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PoRFiRio Diaz, Presidekt of Mexico 



ROY AND RAY 

IN 

MEXICO 



BY 



MARY WRIGHT PLUMMER 



ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

1907 



Y 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwQ OoDtes Received 
MAY 24 190? 

I cwss_y/\ xxcf, Nd. 



COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 



Pubhslied May, tqoy 



THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS 
RAHWAY. N. J. 



1'( 




To the many American children 

Whose travels have been chiefly in imagination, 
this account of a visit to our great next- 
door neighbour^ is dedicated, with 
the hope that they may some 
day see its wonders 
with their oivn 
eyes 



PREFACE 

This volume does not pretend to be a guide- 
book to Mexico, or a history of the country. It is 
simply the record of an actual journey to seven or 
eight Mexican cities and towns, as experienced by 
two intelligent, wide-awake children, with some 
one at hand to answer their questions and call 
their attention to things they might otherwise not 
have noticed. If the assurance of one boy to 
whom the manuscript was read, that "it would be 
interesting to anybody who wanted to know about 
Mexico," proves to be well-founded, the object of 
its writing will have been attained. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Beginning 1 

II. To "San Antone" 14 

III. Across the Border .... .27 

IV. Mexico at Last 41 

V. The City op Mexico 54 

VI. Mexico City and Guadalupe .... 69 

VII. Mexico's President 88 

VIII. Mexican Specialties 106 

IX. The Glorious Fourth in Mexico . . . 118 

X. The Conquest 132 

XI. The Museum 146 

XII. The Museum Again, and Chapultepec . . 156 

XIII. The Viga 167 

XIV. Across the Mountains 177 

XV. Cuernavaca 186 

XVI. The Sights of Cuernavaca 195 

XVII. The Countryside 205 

XVIII. A Little History 218 

XIX. More Excursions 227 

XX. Southward 239 

XXI. The Great Pyramid 254 

XXII. Oaxaca 265 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER FAOB 

XXIII. The Road to Mitla 278 

XXIV. Mitla 290 

XXV. Mitla Contintted 304 

XXVI. The Return Journey 318 

XXVII. Orizaba and Back to the Capital . . . 328 

XXVIII. Northward to Guanajuato .... 341 

XXIX. Guanajuato, Hill of the Frogs . . . 350 

XXX. More Guanajuato 363 

XXXI. Chihuahua and Home 373 

The Mexican National Hymn 384 

La Paloma 391 

La Golondrina 397 

Index 401 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PoRFiRio Diaz, President of Mexico . . . Frontispiece 

Map of Mexico . Facing page 1 

House Companions " 42 

A Laundry " 53 

A Beggar Boy " 66 

Making Tortillas " 90 

The Sad Indian " 150 

Castle of Chapultepec " 164 

The ViGA Canal " 1'74 

Donkeys Carrying Grass .... " 184 

Market Scenes " 196 

A Cuernavaca Boy " 236 

Ox-cart and Organ Cactus .... " 378 

Mexican Kitchen Range .... " 306 

Patio of Don Felix " 316 

Orizaba " 333 

A Mine Foreman and His Home ... " 378 



ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

CHAPTER I 
THE BEGINNING 

Roy and Ray Stevens were twins, and were 
about eleven years old when they made their first 
long journey. They had gone from New York to 
Boston several times, to see their grandmother, 
and they had once made the trip by boat from 
New York to Portland, Maine; but these were 
trifling journeys compared with the one they were 
now going to take. 

Their home was in a New Jersey suburb of New 
York, and their bedrooms were small adjoining 
ones with a door between, so that they could talk 
back and forth at night if they did not feel sleepy. 
On one particular June morning they were both 
awake by six o'clock, and found it hard work to 
stay in bed until seven, which was rising time for 
the family. 

''Boy!" called Ray. 



2 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

' ' Um-hum, ' ' answered Roy. 

"Do you know what day it is?" 

''Yes, ma'am, the 25th of June, the day the 
Stevens family start for Mexico, — and I wish it 
was time to go right now. ' ' 

"/ wish the whole Stevens family were going," 
said Ray, ' ' I do hate to leave Ben and the baby, — 
I 'm going to miss them awfully. ' ' 

' ' Grandmother '11 take good care of them, ' ' said 
Roy. 

''I know she will, and Aunt Jenny promised to 
write and tell all the funny things they do and 
say, — but that won't be the same as having them 
right with us." 

' ' Pshaw ! You 're homesick already, ' ' said Roy. 
''Why don't you stay at home if you're going to 
feel that way?" 

"I want to go — really I do," said Ray, "and 
when we get started I suppose I'll see things that 
will make me forget the children part of the time ; 
but just now, you see, the things haven't begun 
and I haven't got them to think of. Eoy," 
— suddenly changing the subject, — "is father very 
richr' 



THE BEGINNING 3 

''I don't know certainly," said Roy, thonglit- 
fully, ^'bnt I guess not very ricli, just com- 
fortable, you know. We haven't got an auto- 
mobile. ' ' 

''No, but this is a pretty expensive trip we're 
going to take, isn't it?" 

"I guess it does cost a good deal," said Roy, 
"but I heard father tell mother one day that if 
you had a little money, he believed in getting the 
good of it as you went along, and I suppose that's 
what he means to do when he takes us to Mexico. 
I shouldn't wonder if he had some business there, 
too." 

This last was true and this was the reason why 
the Stevenses were going to Mexico in summer, 
which is the Mexican rainy season, as Mr. 
Stevens ' business could not wait until the regular 
tourist season, which is late winter or early 
spring and the Mexican dry season. But he had 
been told by several business friends in Mexico 
that July and August were really the pleasantest 
months of the year up on the highlands of Mexico, 
that one escaped the heat of the States, and that 
the summer rains had by that time laid the dust, 



4 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

which is the most unpleasant feature of the Mexi- 
can climate. 

''Have you packed your part of the trunk, 
Ray?" asked Roy. 

"Yes, six times, and every time I forget some- 
thing or I get so much in that it won't shut, and 
I have to take something out. Is your part ready 
now?" 

"No," said Roy, "and I guess I'll get up right 
now and pack it. It'll be something to do." 

"Well, don't take any of my space, for I need 
it all," warned Ray. "Mother's going to look it 
all over when it's done, anyhow. I was going to 
put in several papers of pins and all the thread 
in my work-basket, and she asked me if I thought 
I was going to a country where you couldn't get 
pins and thread. She says the shops in Mexico 
get their things in Paris, and are almost as good 
as New York shops. You know," confidentially, 
"until she said that, I had an idea we were going 
to a kind of heathen country. I was almost afraid 
we'd have to see a human sacrifice." 

"Oh, my! that hasn't been since the daj^s of 
old — What 's-his-name. You get father to tell you 



THE BEGINNING 5 

about it. The Mexicans now are just as civilised 
as you are. Why, Mexico 's a republic. ' ' 

''Yes, that's so. People have to be pretty civi- 
lised for that, don't they?" said Ray, innocently. 
But Eoy did not answer, and from the hard 
breathing she heard she guessed that he was 
already at work stuffing his clothes and other 
belongings into the bottom of the trunk they were 
to have together. Presently, as she dressed, she 
heard a long sigh and a grunt that sounded like 
dissatisfaction. "What's the matter?" she 
asked. ^ 

''I just can't get my baseball suit in, that's 
what's the matter." 

"Your baseball suit?" Ray stopped with her 
brush in her hand, to look into the room. Roy was 
kneeling on the floor before the trunk, the picture 
of despair, while the padded suit protruded from 
it at all four corners and refused to be pressed 
down by the tray. "Well, Roy Stevens, if I 
ever ! ' ' laughed Ray. ' ' Who 's going to play base- 
ball with you down there, I'd like to know." 

Roy's frown disappeared slowly, as this new 
idea made its way to his brain. "Huh!" he said, 



6 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

"guess I'm crazy. It's a pity, though, for next 
summer that suit will be too small." 

''It will do for little Ben in a couple of years," 
said Ray, soothingly. 

"Course, but that doesn't do me any good. 
Well, here goes ! ' ' and Eoy pitched the puffy gar- 
ments into the corner, where the open closet partly 
caught them. 

"Children!" called their mother's voice, "time 
to get up! There are lots of things to be done 
before the eleven-o'clock train." 

"We're up," answered Ray, and they dressed 
in a hurry and ran down to breakfast. It was 
hard for them to eat, though their mother re- 
minded them that it would be a long time before 
they would again taste Katy's delicious hot rolls 
or nice croquettes. She kept them busy all the 
morning, packing and helping her to pack, running 
on errands, etc., so that eleven o'clock came before 
they expected it, and they were aboard the local 
train for New York, waving their hands to friends, 
neighbours, and servants who had come to see 
them off. 

"Now, we're going!" exclaimed Ray, but Roy 



THE BEGINNING 7 

said, ' ' No, we Ve often done this much before. We 
shan't really be going to Mexico till we get on the 
other train. Something may happen yet." But 
nothing did. They had luncheon at the station 
with their big brother, Gilbert, just from college, 
and in charge of his father's office during their 
absence, and their sister Dora, who was spending 
a few weeks in the neighbourhood of New York 
with a friend; and then the long train pulled out 
of the train-yards with two very excited and 
happy children in the sleeper Morpheus. 

As the children had never made any long jour- 
neys, they had never travelled in a sleeping-car, 
and their eyes and ears were busy for the first 
hour investigating their surroundings. In vain 
did their mother call their attention to the Pali- 
sades and Storm King and the other features of 
Hudson River scenery ; they were interested in the 
berths and the buffet. They wanted to know 
where the coloured porter kept the pillows in the 
daytime, why the upper berths didn't shut up and 
smother people, how the cooking and serving 
things could all be kept in the little room called the 
buffet, how they were going to undress at night ; 



8 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and they kept both father and mother busy 
answering questions. 

''But, children, you're missing all this beautiful 
scenery," said Mrs. Stevens. 

"We'll come back this way, shan't we?" asked 
Roy. 

''Yes, I suppose so." 

"Well, we'll see it then. I think sleeping-cars 
are much more interesting just now. What are 
these little slots for, father?" 

' ' To fasten the table into when we have luncheon 
here in our section. The table has only one leg, 
and that folds up when it is not in use. ' ' 

"Oh, yes, I see. Are the screens to keeio out 
mosquitoes 1 ' ' 

"That's a New Jersey question, surely. Think 
a little and you can answer it yourself. Ti-rt's 
one thing I want you and Ray to learn to do, this 
trip, — never to ask me or your mother a question 
until you have tried faithfully to answer it your- 
self. It will make better travellers of you and 
pleasanter company for us." 

Just then a gust of smoke from the engine blew 
through the screen and sent a fine black dust into 



THE BEGINNING 9 

the car. "I see, it's for cinders !" exclaimed Roy, 
''but it can't keep the dust and smoke out." 

"No, unfortunately, and we shall have to take 
our share of those evils. ' ' 

When it grew dark, and the car-lights were 
turned on, Mrs. Stevens rang for the little table 
to be fixed into the sockets; the buffet waiter 
spread a clean white cloth over it and brought in 
napkins and a pot of coffee, and Mrs. Stevens pro- 
duced from a box some excellent luncheon she had 
prepared for the occasion. 

' ' I thought there was a dining-car on the train, ' ' 
said Eoy. 

"There is, and we shall take breakfast in it in 
the morning," said his father, "but as it is table 
d'hote and one dollar a head, I preferred not to 
spend twelve dollars a day on our meals when we 
should probably not eat three dollars' worth of 
food. Later we shall find an a la carte arrange- 
ment, and then we shall use the dining-car regu- 
larly." 

"What is the difference?" asked Roy. 

^^ Table d'hote means that you may call for 
everything on the bill of fare or only one thing, 



10 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

as you choose, but you must pay a dollar for it in 
either case; while a la carte (or by the card) 
means that the price of every dish is given and 
that you pay for what you order and nothing more. 
If you wish to eat a long dinner such as the table 
d'hote provides, it would cost you much more to 
pay for it by the card ; but if, as is the case with 
most travellers, you are not ravenously hungry, 
you can choose some one or two dishes from the 
bill of fare and make a less expensive and an 
equally satisfactory meal." 

"I'm sure this is satisfactory," said Ray, fin- 
ishing a piece of the chocolate cake which Katy 
had made that morning. 

''We could have had something from the little 
cupboard in this car, couldn't we?" said Roy. 

''You mean the buffet"? Yes, our coffee was 
made there, but it wasn't very good. Buffet food 
as a rule is not appetising." 

"Don't you like sleeping-cars, mother? I do," 
said Ray. 

"Well, my dear, to tell you the truth, I'm not 
as fond of them as of my own room and my own 
bed at home, but I can generally manage to make 



THE BEGINNING 11 

myself comfortable and to sleep pretty well. The 
motion of the train on a good road-bed gets to be 
rather a help to sleeping." 

''Like a cradle 1" asked Ray. 

*'Yes, or like the rocking of a ship." 

It was not long after the clearing away of the 
supper-table, before the porter began to make up 
the berths. The children watched him with atten- 
tive eyes, and soon knew just the order in which 
he did the various things in the bed-making 
process. 

''Porter," said Mr. Stevens, "whenever you're 
ready. ' ' 

"Yes, sir, jus' as soon as I put dis lady to 
baid," said the porter, making the children 
laugh. 

"He talked just as if she were a baby," said 
Ray. 

At last their turn came. The first thing Roy 
noticed as he drew aside the curtains was that the 
berth was made up with the head toward the loco- 
motive. "What's that for, father?" he asked. 
"I should think it would be the other way. Oh, 
I forgot, — I asked you that without thinking first. 



12 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Let me see. ' ' But he could not think of a reason, 
so his father told him. 

''One reason is that you are not in so much 
danger of catching cold. As the air enters by the 
screen or through the cracks of the window, it 
passes by your head and chest without striking 
them; and if you slept with your head the other 
way it would fly right at the head and throat. 
Some people, too, have a theory that with the head 
this way the blood is driven from the brain by 
the motion of the train, and that therefore one 
sleeps better. But the other is a better reason 
and all we need, I think. ' ' 

''I should think," said Ray, ''that they wouldn't 
put so much carving and things on these cars, and 
would have a bigger dressing-room for the women 
and little girls. There was another lady there 
when we were, and we kept hitting each other all 
the time, and there was only one hook to hang any- 
thing on, and she had that, so we had to put my 
clothes on the floor. I'd rather have a bigger 
place and not have it so ornamental. ' ' 

For a half-hour or so, it was hard for the 
children to get to sleep, with the unaccustomed 



The beginning 1^ 

surroundings, the motion, the noise, the occasional 
stopping and starting, and the novelty of such a 
bed, but by the time their father and mother came 
to their respective berths, both Eoy and Ray were 
sound asleep and dreaming of the wonders in 
store for them. 



CHAPTER II 

TO "SAN ANTONE" 

The next morning, the children were awake so 
early that they got quite tired lying still until it 
was time for them to get up. Their mother let 
them rise and dress as early as was at all conven- 
ient, and though the train flung them about more 
or less while they were dressing, they managed to 
look almost as well as the day before. Eoy espe- 
cially looked forward with much interest to break- 
fast in the dining-car. There was something in 
the idea of eating at a table and travelling at the 
same time which seemed very attractive to him, 
and when he looked over the bill of fare and then 
unfolded his napkin, he heaved a sigh of satis- 
faction. And he discussed his grape fruit, his 
cereal, and his broiled chop so slowly that the 
family all laughed at him and said he was trying 
to get his dollar 's worth. As there was very little 
of interest to see from the car-window on this 

14 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 15 

second day, the children began to observe their 
fellow-passengers. There were two college boys in 
whom Roy took an interest, as he heard them 
comparing the athletics of freshwater and sea- 
board colleges. Suddenly one of them leaned for- 
ward and grasped the other's hand most affection- 
ately, and as the other looked at him in surprise, 
he said, "I just noticed that design on your 
cuff-buttons," and then he put his left hand also 
around the other's hand and shook hands as if he 
had found a long-lost brother. They gazed at each 
other, quite unable to express in words their 
feelings at finding they belonged to the same fra- 
ternity, and Roy thought it was beautiful and 
longed for the day when he should be old enough 
to join one. Ray found great fascination in a 
young Mexican lady who fanned very dexterously 
with two fans, one in each hand, when the day 
grew warm. She tried it herself with her own 
and her mother 's fan, but she was not very skilful 
and only managed to hit herself on the nose con- 
tinually. The Mexican senorita was very pretty, 
with dark eyes and a great deal of dark hair, pink 
cheeks and white teeth, and a very soft voice and 



16 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

charming laugh. She spoke very little English, 
but as several Americans in the car who lived in 
Mexico could speak Spanish with her, she did not 
lack for company, especially as she had with her 
her brother, who had been studying at a Northern 
college. Ray did her best to pick up a little 
Spanish by listening, but could not get further 
than "/S'i (see)," meaning yes, which she already 
knew. The day grew very warm, and when 
luncheon time came, the children cared for nothing 
but fruit. They had looked at pictures and read 
from the magazines, looked out the windows and 
observed their neighbours, taken short naps and 
nibbled at a box of candy, and now they were 
entirely out of occupation. * ' I feel just like grand- 
mother 's parrot when she whines, 'What does 
Polly want?' " said Ray. ''I've done everything 
I can think of and I can't sleep any more, — can 
you tell us what to do, mother!" 

"I think father is getting something ready for 
you," said Mrs. Stevens. "Just wait awhile and 
you'll see." And for some time, indeed, Mr. 
Stevens had been writing very industriously on a 
large sheet of paper, Now he began to fold it into 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 17 

squares and to cut the squares apart with, his 
pocket scissors. Presently he spread the squares 
out on the little table which the porter had brought 
him, and began to shuffle them like carde. "Come 
and play my new game — my Mexican game," he 
said, "that will wake you up, children. Come, 
Helen," to Mrs. Stevens, "it may be good for you 
too." 

They all gathered about the table, to try the new 
game, and were soon so deep in it that they almost 
forgot the heat. Mr. Stevens had made a game 
something like the American one of "Authors," 
but instead of taking Mexican authors he had made 
it a game of Mexican history to some extent. 
Under the heading of "Great Aztecs" he had the 
names of Moctezuma and Axayacatl and Cuauh- 
temoc; under the heading "Early Spanish Ex- 
plorers" the names of Cortez and Alvarado and 
Cordoba, while under each of the headings 
' ' Mexican rulers, " " Mexican generals, " " Mexican 
wars," "Mexican ruins," "Mexican events," and 
"Mexican cities," he had supplied the three items 
necessary to make the game possible. Eight sets 
of four cards each made thirty-two cards, giving 



18 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

each one of the party eight cards to begin with, 
and four cards made a book, just as in "Authors." 
If Roy, for instance, had a card headed ' ' Mexican 
rulers ' ' and found under it the names of ' ' Juarez, ' ' 
"Maximilian," and "Diaz," he must try to get 
from the others the three cards having these 
names at the head, and if he succeeded he would 
have a book to his credit. But if they noticed that 
he was calling for these, they would see at once 
that he must have one card of the book and they 
would try to get that away from him to help make 
their own book. Nearly all of you will have 
played "Authors," so I am sure you will not need 
further explanation ; and at the end of this chapter 
you will find a copy of one card under each head- 
ing. Roy and Ray, when they had played this 
game several times, had the main points of 
Mexico 's history so well fixed in their minds that 
they scarcely ever made any mistakes, and found 
all the pictures and labels in the Museum and 
references in their guide-book much more inter- 
esting than they would have thought them other- 
wise. Their father won the game the first time, 
and Ray the second; and by then the train was 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 19 

slowing down as they entered St. Louis. As they 
were obliged to leave the train here and take 
another, and had an hour or two to spare after 
getting supper in the dining-room of the great 
station, they took a drive out to the West End, 
which is the handsome residence part of this im- 
portant Western city, and through the World's 
Fair grounds in Forest Park. When they reached 
the station again and found their berths in a new 
train, Mrs. Stevens unpacked their belongings 
much more extensively than before, for on this 
train they were to live for three days and four 
nights. 

*'It will get to seem just like home, won't it?" 
said Ray, to which her mother could only reply 
"We'll hope so," for she did not enjoy train- 
travel in the summer. 

By the next morning there was enough that 
was new in the scenes they passed through to 
make the day more entertaining than the one 
before. The forlorn little towns of Arkansas, 
their unpainted, grey wooden houses almost 
settling into the ground, the wash-basins or 
bowls on benches out on the front ''gallery," the 



20 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

upstairs verandahs on every two-story house, 
the washings of many colours strung out on the 
front fences, the outside chimneys built of mud, 
the bowl-shaped straw sun-hats that some of the 
men wore, — all these and many other things kept 
the children constantly interested. There was one 
one-story hotel, painted red, with strips of wood 
painted white tacked over the cracks perpendicu- 
larly, that the children said looked like candy ; and 
when they came soon after to Little Rock, the 
capital, they made a joke that diverted them very 
much, calling the hotel Little Rock candy. It does 
not take anything very funny to amuse people 
who are ready to be amused, as Roy and Ray 
were. 

It was in Arkansas that they first noticed 
stations with separate waiting-rooms for the 
coloured people, who also became more numerous 
than before. At Texarkana, a name made from 
Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, because the town 
is at a point near which the three state lines meet, 
they first had fruit and vegetables offered to them 
at the train-windows by small boys. Some had 
plums, and when a lady who had bought some 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 21 

complained that they were hard, the boy-peddler 
retorted, "Well, that's the way they are." Other 
boys had ripe tomatoes and gave a pinch of coarse 
salt with each tomato, wrapped up in a piece of 
old newspaper. The children thought these very 
refreshing and preferred them to fruit. As the 
time drew near for the train to start, the peddlers 
would come down in their prices and call out, 
"Peaches, peaches — all I got for a nickel!" or 
"Peaches and tomatoes for a nickel — every- 
thing!" 

In one small town they saw a public well with a 
roof over it and seats around it, and in another, 
as indeed in most of them, all the stores had 
"porches" as Eay expressed it, and they saw 
several merchants playing cards on the street 
corner on an upturned box, with their hats pushed 
back and in their shirt sleeves. These things 
would have told them they had reached the South, 
even if they had not known it from the heat. 
Toward evening they went through a small town 
or village where a whole calf was hanging to a 
tree instead of in a butcher 's shop, and while they 
were wondering at this, two men came, one with a 



22 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

large knife with which he proceeded to cut ofi the 
piece of veal that the other man wanted. But the 
country still seemed American, though their father 
reminded them that Texas and part of Arkansas 
had once belonged to Mexico. Still they did not 
really feel that they were seeing anything very 
unusual until they came to San Antonio, or ' ' San 
Antone," as the natives call it, one of the most 
foreign-looking cities in the United States. They 
reached it quite early in the morning, and having 
three hours to spare, decided to go up into the 
town for breakfast and a bath, and then see the 
city by means of a drive. As soon as they stepped 
out of the train, the children were struck with the 
town's unlikeness to anything American. The 
buildings were low, generally with one story, and 
never with more than two, and built of adobe, a 
sort of clay found abundantly in the dryer parts 
of the Southwest. They were not only white- 
washed but bluewashed and pinkwashed, as Roy 
put it, giving a very gay appearance to the streets. 
The River San Antonio, which winds through the 
city and is crossed by more than forty bridges, 
was very pretty in places and bordered by tropical 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 23 

or semi-tropical plants. The hotel and many of the 
houses had iron balconies upstairs and glass doors 
opening on to them, so that people could sit in the 
shade of the trees on these balconies and get the 
air without being too noticeable. The hotel was 
built in a hollow square around a court where 
tropical plants were growing in large pots, and 
there was an air of great coolness everywhere. 
After a good breakfast and a bath, Mr. Stevens 
hired a carriage and driver and they visited the 
most interesting parts of the city, going down first 
into the Mexican quarter, where the poorer people 
live. This quarter is usually called Chihuahua 
(Che-wah'-wah) in towns which have a Mexican 
population. Here the people lived in hovels that 
looked as if they were built out of the refuse of 
lumber-yards, tin-shops, straw-stacks, and even 
rag-bags, and how some of these huts could hold 
together it was hard to understand. Nearly every 
house had its china-tree, a small tree whose foliage 
grows in a ball and gives a very thick shade. 
There were the mesquite-tree, also small, the 
pepper-tree with its pretty pink berries and lace- 
like leaves, and an occasional fig-tree. 



24 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

The market-place interested the children very 
much, though it was not the principal market day 
and there was no crowd. The people had very few 
of their fruits and vegetables in measures, having 
them arranged instead in little piles on the 
ground at so much a pile. There were sheaves of 
sugar-cane, also, the first the children had seen. 
Mrs. Stevens wished to take the picture of a little 
girl who was superintending some of the heaps, 
and her father willingly allowed it ; but when she 
turned to take a snapshot of a man carrying a 
great basket strapped on his back by a band across 
his forehead, the man began to run and she had to 
give it up. ' ' I suppose he thinks something dread- 
ful will happen to him if I get his picture," she 
said. "They say many of the people are very 
superstitious and think the camera is as bad as 
the 'evil eye.' " 

"What's the evil eye?" asked Roy. 

"Among most savage or half-civilised people 
and even among the most ignorant of civilised 
people, such as the Italian peasants, there is a 
general belief that certain persons have the evil 
eye; that is, if their attention is attracted to and 



TO "SAN ANTONE" 25 

fixed on any person, something evil will happen to 
that person. And in this belief, they wear charms 
and amulets to ward off the danger. ' ' 

At the Cathedral, they all got out of the car- 
riage and went in for a few minutes. Mass was 
about to be celebrated and the church bells were 
ringing musically. The congregation was chiefly 
Mexicans (i. e., mixed Spanish and Indian) and 
Indians, with a few white people. The women 
were nearly all in sunbonnets, though there were 
a very few mantillas and the black shawls that 
take the place of mantillas in Mexico. Every 
woman seemed to have a fan and to keep it going. 
The back of the Cathedral was very old, with 
massive walls, and the driver said it dated back to 
1744. 

The children were so surprised to find so 
foreign-looking a town in the United States that 
they asked their father for an explanation, and 
when they entered the Alamo, which had been 
successively a church or convent, a fort and a 
prison, and was now a historical show-place, they 
all sat down for a few minutes while he told them 
a little of the history of San Antonio. 



GAME OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

(Specimen Cards) 



GREAT AZTECS 

Moctezuma II, killed 
1521 



Cuauhtemoc, succes- 
sor of Moctezuma 



EAELY SPANISH 
EXPLORERS 

Francisco Hernandez 
de Cordoba, arrived 
1517 

Pedro de Alvarado, ar- 
rived 1518 

Hernando Cortez, ar- 
rived 1519, died 
1547 



MEXICAN RULERS 

Benito Juarez, 1859- 
1872 

Maximilian, Archduke 
of Austria, 1864-67 

Porfirio Diaz, 1877- 
80, 1884-date 



MEXICAN GEN- 
ERALS 

Agustin de Tturbide, 
War of Independ- 
ence 

Antonio Lopez de 
Santa Anna, War of 
Independence and 
Mexican War 

Mariano Escobedo, 
War against Maxi- 
milian 



MEXICAN WARS 

War of Independence, 
1810-23 

War with U, S,, 1846- 
48 

War against Maxi- 
milian, 1867 



MEXICAN EVENTS 


Final entry of Span- 


ish into City of Mex- 


ico, 1521 


Uprising against 


Spain, Sept. 16, 1810 


Adoption of Republi- 


can constitution, 


1823 



MEXICAN RUINS 

Mitla (Oaxaca) 

Palenque (Chiapas) 

Cholula, Pyramid of 
(Puehla) 



MEXICAN CITIES 

City of Mexico (Mex- 
ico), population, 
400,000 

Guadalajara (Jalisco), 
125,000 

PueMa(PueHa), 100,- 
000 



CHAPTER III 
ACROSS THE BORDER 

'^FoEMEKLY," said Mr. Stevens, "Mexico owned 
all that part of the United States south of the Red 
and the Arkansas rivers and west to the coast, 
covering a large part of California. This part of 
the country was but thinly settled with Mexicans, 
however, while, so far as Texas was concerned, 
Americans were continually moving into the 
district and securing grants of land from the 
Mexican government. For a long time they were 
welcome because they occupied and developed the 
country and made no trouble; but when, in 1835, 
under the American, Sam Houston, they were so 
numerous and so aggressive as to be able to de- 
clare themselves and the country independent of 
Mexico, the affair took on a different appearance. ' ' 

''Did we back them up?" asked Roy, anxiously. 

"You'll see," replied his father. "General 

Santa Anna, whose name you had in your Mexican 

37 



28 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

game yesterday, was sent north to put down this 
revolution, and there was a great deal of fighting. 
The Texans were entrenched in this building, the 
Alamo, then a church." 

"What does Alamo mean?" interrupted Ray. 

' ' It is the word for cottonwood, a kind of poplar, 
and the church of the Alamo probably stood orig- 
inally in the midst of those trees, "said her father; 
then, resuming his story, ' ' The Texans were under 
the command of General Travis, and were con- 
quered and massacred by the Mexican forces on 
March 6, 1836. You have just had pointed out 
to you the places where Crockett and Bowie were 
killed. 'Remember the Alamo!' became the 
Texans' watchword. They had another defeat 
less than a month later when six hundred of them 
were killed. In April, however, Santa Anna was 
defeated and taken prisoner, and as he was then 
the president and the principal general of Mexico, 
this brought the war for Texan independence to 
an end. For eight years, until 1844, Texas was an 
independent republic, and had the recognition, as 
such, of the United States and Europe, though not 
of Mexico. ' ' 



ACROSS THE BORDER 29 

"Oh!" exclaimed Roy, "now I understand! 
Isn't that why they call Texas the Lone Star State, 
because it stood all by itself once?" 

"That is just the reason. During its brief 
career as a republic, a single blue star in a ground 
of white silk was its banner, and its seal was a 
white star surrounded by liveoak and olive 
branches on a blue ground. The state still uses 
this seal. In 1844, Texas petitioned to be admitted 
to the United States as a state, and being settled 
by Americans chiefly this was almost a foregone 
conclusion. Mexico, seeing, very naturally, bad 
faith in this way of annexing a part of her terri- 
tory, protested, particularly as she believed that 
it had been what we call 'a put-up job' from the 
beginning. Other countries, knowing the United 
States to be much the stronger of the two, did not 
interfere, and so the Mexican War began. ' ' 

"I think it was a shame," said Ray, indignantly. 

"It was just like stealing from your next-door 
neighbour, ' ' said Roy. 

"Yes," said Mr. Stevens, "there were a great . 
many Americans at the time who felt so and pro- 
tested, but in vain. General Ulysses Grant was a 



30 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

young soldier in our army during- this war, and he 
has left on record his opinion that it was 'one of 
the most unjust wars ever waged by a stronger 
against a weaker nation.' It was certainly a piece 
of Yankee sharp practice, and is perhai)s the one 
war in which our country has been engaged for 
which it has had reason to l)lusii. 

"The first battle of the war took i)lace in A})iil, 
184G, and until May 18th all the fighting was in 
Texas. Then General Zachary Taylor, head of 
the American forces, afterward President of the 
United States, crossed into Mexico. The battles 
of Monterey (Mon-tay-ray') and Buena Vista 
(Bway'-na Vis'-ta) followed, both American vic- 
tories, and the town of Chihuahua was taken ; and 
at the same time the government at Washington 
was instigating a revolution in California, also 
Mexican territory. In August the Americans 
under Stockton and Kearney took possession of 
California." 

''Poor Mexico was losing everywhere, wasn't 
she?" said Ray. 

"General Winfield Scott headed the expedition 
against the City of Mexico, the capital, and won 



ACROSS THE BORDER 31 

victories in the battles of Cerro Gordo, Padierna, 
and Churubusco. You will find all these places 
on the map, and we will look them up together 
presently. The battles of Molino del Key (Mo-lee- 
no del Ray: the King's Mill)— and, by the way, 
the old mill is still standing — and of Casa Mata, 
took place on the 8th of September. The saddest 
event of the war was the storming of the Castle 
of Chapultepec, only a mile from the city, on the 
12th and 13th. This was occupied then, as it is 
now in part, as a military school, and the young 
cadets helped nobly to defend it, several losing 
their lives in the struggle. A monument to them 
stands at the base of the rock on which the castle 
is built, and we shall see the inscription when we 
go out there. The Mexican families whose sons 
were in this engagement were very proud of them, 
and every year the monument is hung with gar- 
lands." 

"I think the United States was in pretty poor 
business to fight boys," exclaimed Roy, while 
Ray's eyes filled with tears. 

''I am glad to say," said Mr. Stevens, *'that a 
recent American ambassador to Mexico sent some 



32 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

very beautiful wreaths to be placed on the monu- 
ment at the time of the annual decoration, which 
pleased the Mexican people very much. And 
when the treaty was signed, at the close of the war 
(it was called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo — 
Gwah-da-lu'-pay He-dal'-go), the United States 
paid Mexico $15,000,000 for all the territory north 
and east of the Eio Grande (Ree'-o Gran'-day). 
Since then, the great river, which is what the name 
Rio Grande means, has been the boundary between 
the two republics. ' ' 

''Do the Mexicans just hate us, ever since!" 
asked Ray. 

"No, I do not think they do. Nations very 
seldom hate one another as a whole, fortunately, 
and Mexico has prospered so and is so large a 
country even without the territory we took from 
her, that she holds higher and higher rank among 
nations as time goes on, and can afford to forget 
past injustice. Americans living in Mexico seem 
very happy, and the law-abiding class get along 
amicably with the native citizens." 

Ray gave a sigh of relief. "Roy, let us buy 
some flowers, too, to put on the monument," she 



ACROSS THE BORDER 33 

said, and Roy nodded soberly. It was the first 
time it had occurred to him that his country could 
be in the wrong. 

After this little talk, the children went the 
rounds of the Alamo once more, noting its thick 
walls and grated windows, the fig-tree looking in 
at one window and the morning-glory vine draping 
another. They examined with interest the pic- 
tures on the walls, of the Americans who had been 
in the defence of the building, and read the his- 
torical documents framed and hung about, every- 
where. This was a fine way to study American 
history, they thought. 

It was time to go to the train, and they were 
soon speeding on through Texas, calling each 
other's attention to the increasing growth of 
cactus, and to the chaparral, thickets of mesquite, 
etc., the only vegetation of these dry plains. Once 
they were much diverted hj an old freight-car 
which was being occupied as a home by a Mexican 
family. The son, a boy of about Roy's age, stood 
in the doorway with a red and green parrot on his 
shoulder, and waved his hand at the children as 
they passed. For some time before they reached 



34 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the Mexican border, they saw the thatched huts 
that became so familiar to them the next day in 
northern Mexico. These hnts were built some- 
times of adobe and sometimes of wood, and 
thatched with the dried leaves of the yucca. 

When the train stopped at Laredo (Lah-ray'-do) , 
on the American side of the Eio Grande, the Mexi- 
can customs officials came aboard the train and 
examined all the hand-baggage the passengers had 
with them, looking at it very carelessly and putting 
a black mark on the outside of every package to 
show that it had been examined. The children 
watched them with great interest, but were soon 
diverted by the view of the Rio Grande as they 
crossed the long bridge leading into Mexico. The 
river was very wide and seemed rather low and 
full of sandbars, for though it was past the end of 
the dry season the rains had not yet had time to 
fill it up. On either side, the country was covered 
with green foliage and dotted with white houses, 
and the sky was very blue, with little white clouds 
floating about. It was a beautiful picture. 

Before reaching Laredo a new official had 
boarded the train, the "passenger's assistant," an 



ACROSS THE BORDER 35 

American in uniform, whose duty it was to help 
those passengers who might have trouble in get- 
ting their baggage into Mexico on account of their 
ignorance of Spanish or who might wish to change 
American money into Mexican. As Roy and Ray 
had charge of their own trunk, their father 
promised to let them see it through the customs, 
and the children awaited developments in great 
excitement. When they left the car at Nuevo 
(Nway'-vo) Laredo on the Mexican side of the 
river, they found their trunk with the other bag- 
gage in a room in the station. Roy watched other 
people for a moment and saw that the thing to 
do was to get hold of an inspector, but as there 
seemed to be very few in uniform and all these 
were busy, he hardly knew what to do. Suddenly 
a rather ragged Mexican boy of his own age 
plucked his sleeve and pointed to the trunk with 
an inquiring look which said plainly, "Is this 
yours?" Roy nodded his head and showed his 
key. The boy took it, beckoned to a middle-aged 
woman who stood near, opened the trunk and took 
out the trays, one by one. The woman ran her 
hand into the trunk, around the sides and corners. 



36 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and did the same with the trays, and signified by 
a sign that she was satisfied it was all right. So 
the children decided that she was a government 
inspector. When the trunk was locked again, Roy 
was about to give the boj^ a few cents for his 
trouble, but the boy shook his head and waved his 
hand toward the other end of the room where the 
baggage was being rechecked. Then, with all his 
small strength, he dragged the trunk over, took 
Roy's check and exchanged it for two checks of the 
Mexican National Railroad, one of which he fas- 
tened on the trunk, giving the other to Roy, and his 
duty was done. He then held out his hand, indicat- 
ing that he was now ready for his fee, and Roy, 
who had put his money away, now got it out again 
and gave it to him, a little puzzled. Resolving, 
however, not to ask his father the reason for this 
strange behaviour until he had tried to find his 
own explanation, he spent some time in thinking 
over the matter. It finally occurred to him that 
Mexico, like the United States, probably forbade 
its customs officials to take fees, so that the boy 
could not take any money for the inspection; but 
as he was not obliged to recheck the trunk, and did 



ACROSS THE BORDER 37 

it as a favour, lie could properly receive a fee for 
that. And I think that this was probably the cor- 
rect explanation. 

When they had started on again, Ray said, 
''Well, I don't see why we need to speak Spanish, 
if it is all as easy as that. Why, Roy and that boy 
knew just as well what they both meant as if they 
had been talking, and neither of them said a 
word." 

"The Mexicans are like the Italians and the 
French — like all the Latin races — in being able to 
express a great deal by looks and gestures, and in 
understanding very easily the expression of the 
face in others. If they were not so quick, a person 
who could not speak any Spanish would sometimes 
be at a great disadvantage down here," said Mr. 
Stevens. 

''How much did you pay the boy, Roy?" asked 
his mother. 

"I gave him ten cents," said Roy. "Wasn't 
that right?" 

' ' Of American money f ' ' 

"Yes, I hadn't any other." 

"Then you really gave him twenty cents, for 



38 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

our money is worth twice theirs; and he would 
probably have been entirely satisfied with one- 
fourth the amount, or five cents of Mexican cur- 
rency," said Mrs. Stevens. 

"He didn't do the work very well," said Ray, 
"because Roy and I went back and tried the trunk 
and he hadn't locked it at all, and if we hadn't 
thought to go back anybody could have opened it 
by just undoing the straps." 

' ' The Mexicans are not very good in mechanics, 
and he probably did not understand the lock," 
said Mrs. Stevens. Then, turning to her husband, 
"I think, Gilbert, the children should have some 
instruction in Mexican money, now that you have 
some to show them." 

"That's true," said her husband, taking from 
his pocket a handful of coins, large and small, 
among which was one about the size of an Ameri- 
can dollar, "as big as a dinner-plate," Roy said. 
"This is the Mexican dollar or peso (pay'-so)," 
said Mr. Stevens, "and it is worth fifty cents of 
our money." 

"Why isn't their money as good as ours?" 
asked Ray. 



ACROSS THE BORDER 39 

''My dear, you will get me into a lecture on 
political economy, if you insist on my answering 
that question," said her father, "but one of these 
days, if you will remind me, I will try to have an 
explanation for you in as simple a form as 
possible. 

"The Mexicans reckon things largely in reales 
(ray-ahl'-es). The real is equal to 12>^ cents. 
There is really no such coin, but two reals, or dos 
reales, make the quarter, cuatro (qua'-tro) reales, 
or four reals, the half-dollar; and ocho reales, or 
eight reals, the dollar or peso. Below the real, 
they have three denominations, the centavo, the 
quartilla (quar-tee'-ya), and the medio (may- 
dee-o), and the coins are a twenty-centavo piece in 
nickel, a ten-centavo and a five-centavo piece in sil- 
ver, and the copper centavo like a big penny. The 
quartilla is three centavos, and the medio six. As 
their money, like our own, is based on the decimal 
system, it is very easy for Americans to under- 
stand, and now that the rate of exchange is fixed 
at one-half, and the Mexican dollar is worth 
exactly half the American dollar, it is no trouble 
at all for us to calculate from Mexican into Ameri- 



40 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

can money or vice-versa. Sometimes the people 
down here say 'Two dollars gold,' which is the 
same as to say ' Two dollars American monej^, ' and 
'Two dollars silver' means 'Two dollars Mexi- 
can.' " 

' ' Did you notice what it was they pasted on the 
trunks at the custom-house, children?" asked 
their father, as they ate their supper. 

"A piece of white paper," answered Ray, 
quickly. 

"Yes, but what did it say?" 

"I know," said Roy, "wait a minute while I 
think. It was re — re — oh, I know — reconocido." 

"Yes, reconocido (ray-co-no-see'-do), — the Mex- 
icans do not pronounce the soft c like th as the 
Spaniards do. It means examined. And aduana 
(ah-doo-ah'-na) means customs. I want you both 
to read as many Spanish signs and notices as pos- 
sible, for a traveller who can read what he sees 
posted up in various places has a great advantage 
over one who can not, or, at least, does not. It 
saves asking questions of people who cannot un- 
derstand you and whom you could not understand 
if they answered you. You have heard the story 



ACROSS THE BORDER 41 

of the man who was travelling in Germany with- 
out knowing the language 1 ' ' 

' ' No, no ! " cried the children, eager always for 
a story. 

''Well, it seems he was on a train going to a 
town he had never seen, so he had to depend on 
some one to tell him when he got there. The train 
stopped at the town finally, but the man was not 
sure of it, and he called to the guard, 'Is this 
Wiirzburg?' or whatever it was. ' Aussteigen/ 
said the guard. ^Aussteigen, is it? Not Wiirz- 
burg, then, ' said the traveller, and he settled back 
in his corner and was carried on. He did not know 
that aussteigen meant 'get out' or 'get off,' and 
thought it the name of another town. ' ' 

"Wasn't he a goose!" exclaimed Ray. 

"A great many geese travel, my dear, but don't 
you be one of them, ' ' said Mr. Stevens. 



CHAPTER IV 
MEXICO AT LAST 

The next day was spent in the northern states 
of Mexico, and toward evening the mountains be- 
came more rugged and the scenery was some- 
times strikingly grand. The children had hardly 
reached the age when scenery made much impres- 
sion on them, and they left this part of the journey 
to be enjoyed by their parents ; but they were very 
observing, and everything that was different from 
what they had been accustomed to, in the country 
or the people, caught their attention and excited 
their interest. 

I forgot to mention that at one of the stations 
after leaving Nuevo Laredo, they had several 
kinds of grapes offered them at the car window, 
and had found them delicious, with a half-wild 
flavour, especially in the small white grapes, which 
they all liked very much. It seemed strange to 
have grapes as early as the last week in June, but 

42 




o 



MEXICO AT LAST 43 

their father said it was only the beginning of the 
strange things that they would meet in the vege- 
table kingdom of Mexico. 

The mountains really began almost as soon as 
they entered Mexico, but they lay far off on the 
horizon, and all the next day until late afternoon 
the train passed through what seemed almost a 
desert. Everywhere the cactus and the yucca 
occupied the soil. The huts of the people along 
the railway, except some brick and adobe ones 
built by the railroad company at the stations, were 
chiefly of timber from the yucca, with a thatch of 
the leaves. The adobe huts were much better, but 
glimpses of the interiors were rather disappoint- 
ing, as the housekeeping of the women was not 
satisfactory, according to American ideas. In the 
chill of the early morning, they sat on their door- 
steps to see the train come in, — the great event of 
the day, — ^barefooted, but wrapped to the lips in 
their long, rectangular shawls, called rebozos 
(ray-bo'-zos), and barefooted children with dogs, 
pigs, goats, and chickens, stood in groups about 
them as if all held equal place in the family. In- 
deed, at one place, a mother pig and her little ones. 



44 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

frightened at the noise made by the train, turned 
and rushed headlong into the house, past the mis- 
tress, who stood on the doorstep and did nothing 
to hinder them. The dog lay «till and looked after 
them as if with contempt at their cowardice. 

"I wonder where those three men were going 
that got off at the first station this morning, ' ' said 
Ray, as they ate breakfast. ' ' They got off the car 
ahead, marked Terceraclase (ter-say'-ra clah'-say: 
third-class), and they all had musical instru- 
ments in cases. They didn't stop at the station, 
but struck off into the country ; and I couldn 't see 
anywhere for them to go. ' ' 

**Yes," said Roy, "and I saw a man coming on 
horseback from away off somewhere; and I 
couldn't see any place for him to come from/' 

"There are towns all through Mexico," said 
Mr. Stevens, getting out his map and showing 
them, ' ' that are miles from any railroad. When a 
railroad goes through one of our states, we do our 
best to make it go through our own town, and if 
not that, as near as possible; and then our town 
begins to build out and extend toward the railroad 
until it reaches it, or, at least, we run a troUey-line 



MEXICO AT LAST 45 

over to it. But the Mexicans are not so enterpris- 
ing and do not try to get near the railroads. ' ' 

'^What do these cattle find to eat?" asked Mrs. 
Stevens. "I see flocks of sheep and herds of 
cattle, and some horses now and then, and they 
seem to be grazing on something ; but this vegeta- 
tion looks very dry." 

"It is very much the sort of grazing they have 
on some of our western and southwestern plains, ' ' 
said Mr. Stevens, "and if these plains had water 
they would be most :^ertile. I suppose these lands 
could be made as green as the Valley of Mexico, if 
the people had the capital and the enterprise to 
set about irrigating them on a large scale." 

"That stuff doesn't look as if it could be good 
for anything, ' ' said Roy, pointing to a grey-green 
cactus plant. 

"There you are mistaken," said his father, 
"for the cactus is quite a useful plant. There is 
one variety that furnishes the people with tooth- 
picks, and another with combs, and there are two 
or three that can be used as clocks, having an 
invariable time of opening and closi~ig their 
blossoms." 



46 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Suddenly Roy and Ray began to laugh and 
pointed at a hut they were passing. A child, 
brown and chubby, sat on the doorsill eating his 
breakfast from a tin pan with a long spoon. A 
dog and two pigs were determined to have some 
of it, and kept coming up and introducing their 
noses over the edge of the pan. He struck at them 
with the spoon and nudged them with his elbows, 
but not until the mother drove them away did they 
go, and even then they came back as soon as her 
back was turned. 

"Well, that is certainly breakfast under difficul- 
ties," said Mrs. Stevens, much amused. 

''It's a long way from that to cruelty to ani- 
mals," said Mr. Stevens, "and I imagine we shall 
find both extremes in Mexico. ' ' 

Once they passed a walled town, something like 
the pueblos (pway'-blos) of Arizona and New Mex- 
ico, the walls the colour of the soil, and the church 
the largest building in the enclosure. Around 
many of the stations they saw piles of brush cut 
and stacked in blocks, and the conductor told them 
the people made brooms of it. They afterward 
saw these brooms in use in various places. They 



<: \ 



>/., 



■■* A"i 



MEXICO AT LAST 47 

were not made of even length and thickness like 
our brooms, but just tied together in a bundle, and 
the handle was formed of the thick ends of the 
brush bound together in several places. They 
seemed to sweep very well, however. 

'^I thought I saw prairie-dogs a little way 
back, ' ' said Mrs. Stevens. 

''Oh, mother, why didn't you tell me?" cried 
Ray; "I love those prairie-dogs up at the Bronx 
gardens, and I do wish I could see them in their 
real homes. ' ' 

''We passed them so quickly, and you were not 
here at the time, or I should have told you," said 
Mrs. Stevens. "I am quite sure that I saw a 
prairie-dog sitting at the door of one of the 
mounds. ' ' 

By now, they came to San Luis Potosi (Po-to- 
see': St. Louis of the Treasure), their first large 
Mexican town; though what they could see from 
the station did not impress the children very 
much. The city was on level ground, and the 
buildings in sight were of one story and built of 
plaster, washed in the usual pale pink and blue 
and yellow tints. Here they were to take dinner 



48 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

in the station, and it proved quite an American 
meal, with soup, fowl and meats, potatoes, peas 
and cabbage, lemon pie and fruit. The sugar for 
the coffee was Mexican sugar of the usual grade, 
tinged with brown, but very sweet. "Twenty 
minutes for dinner" in Mexico usually means 
twenty-five, so that one does not feel hurried, and 
though the waiters bring and pass things very 
quickly they do not get nervous and fling things 
at you. as in many of our American station dining- 
rooms. 

The family explored a little after dinner, before 
the train started, and back of the station found 
an avenue of large trees under which the country 
people were holding a sort of market on the 
ground, selling fruits and vegetables, arranged in 
little piles as at San Antonio. At the train- 
windows, before they started, all sorts of bartering 
was going on. the people bringing gay little 
baskets of strawberries, figs, little jumping-jacks 
called Judases, dressed in fur, strings of toy 
sombreros (som-bray'-ros) and of toy umbrellas, 
home-made candies, and some very beautiful speci- 
Biens of drawnwork. This was exquisitely fine, 



MEXICO AT LAST 49 

and some of the patterns were like those we see in 
our best cnt-giass. 

San Luis Potosi is in the midst of a famous 
silver-mining district, and one of the ladies in the 
sleeping-car was going to her home at another 
station in this same district. Her husband was 
superintendent of a mine, and Mrs. vStevens asked 
her if she had ever been down in the mine, and 
was much surprised to find that she never had. 
''No woman is allowed in the mine," she said, 
"on account of the superstition of the natives. 
They would think the place hoodooed (bewitched) 
if a woman once entered it. But I will tell you 
what they do let into the mines, and that is rats. 
They get them and domesticate them as scaven- 
gers, for it seems the only way of keeping the 
mines clean." 

''Then I shouldn't think any woman would want 
to go into the mines," said Eay, "if they have 
rats there." 

"If Eip Van Winkle had only lived here, he 
could have gone down in the mine and Gret- 
chen couldn't have got him," said Eoy. thought- 
fully, making them all laugh. Just here the 



50 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

conductor came along and stopped to talk a 
moment. 

*■ ' You youngsters mustn 't think, ' ' said he to the 
children, 'Hhat you have really seen San Luis 
Potosi. It dates back to 1566 or thereabouts, and 
was a big commercial city years before ever the 
railroad came through, and it has between seventy 
and eighty thousand people now. What you see 
from the station is not very impressive, but it has 
a cathedral and numerous churches, a library of 
100,000 volumes and a museum; the state capital 
is here, the state college, and some mighty pretty 
plazas (public squares) and patios (enclosed 
courts). If you had had time to stop here, 
you'd have found some very pretty gold and 
silver embroidery in the shops, a kind of work the 
women and girls make a specialty of." 

' ' Oh, father ! ' ' exclaimed Eay, regretfully. 

''Never mind, little woman," said Mr. Stevens, 
"you and your mother will find plenty of other 
things to spend money on. If Mexico is at all like 
Europe, money will simply melt through our 
fingers before we know it." As if to confirm his 
statement, all day long, at every station, there 



MEXICO AT LAST 51 

were venders of figs, of pears, of tortillas (tor- 
tee'-yas), little flat cakes of corn-flour, pottery, etc., 
until the children soon saw where their money 
would vanish if they allowed it to go. 

It seemed odd to them to see Indian corn grow- 
ing in fields all the way down, sometimes sur- 
rounded by a hedge of straight, tall cactus, and to 
see apples among the products offered for sale. 

From San Luis on, they began to see street-cars 
at the more important stations, generally drawn 
by mules, and very small to eyes accustomed to 
the long city cars of the United States. In the 
afternoon they had a good view of a great haci- 
enda (hah-see-en'-da) or estate. It began right at 
the station — indeed, the station was put there to 
serve the hacienda, evidently. The immense brick 
dwelling, large as a hotel, surrounded with trees, 
gardens, and outbuildings of adobe, all in the best 
possible condition, overlooked the railroad. The 
estate extended across the track in the midst of 
continued verdure, with stone-walled fields, the 
walls climbing to the top of the adjoining hills, 
winding streams, a windmill of the most modern 
type, workshops and outbuildings of great extent, 



52 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and a church with two towers, making a really 
beautiful spot after the desert miles they had 
passed through. It was here that they saw for 
the first time in their lives a private horse-car. 
It was a little one, holding only four persons, and 
ran on the same tracks as the public one. It was 
evidently intended for the use of the owner of the 
hacienda. One of the conductors, who was also 
the driver, left his car and came to the station, 
and the children saw that he had ^'Carrotero 
(Car-ro-tay'-ro) " on his cap. 

''That isn't much like conductor," said Ray. 

"No, but it makes me think of an English word 
— I can't just remember what," said Roy, knit- 
ting his brows together. 

"Charioteer?" suggested his mother. 

"Yes!" exclaimed Roy, "and it means almost 
the same thing, doesn't itf " 

"They came from the same Latin word, car- 
rus,^^ said Mrs. Stevens. "And car, cart, and 
carriage in English, carrozza in Italian, char in 
French, carro in Spanish, are all words of the 
same derivation." I don't know how much of this 
little lesson in words the children remembered, 



MEXICO AT LAST 53 

but they ever afterward, while in Mexico, called 
the conductor the charioteer. 

Besides the street-car. they noticed the local 
buggies, which had white hoods instead of black, 
to reflect the rays of the sun instead of absorbing 
them. Soon after, the train began to climb up into 
the mountains, and the children got their first view 
of a Mexican laundry. Some country women had 
brought their washing to a mountain brook and 
were rubbing the wet clothes on the stones to get 
the dirt off. A Mexican- American lady on the train 
told Mrs. Stevens that it was hard to get the Mexi- 
can women to wash in any other way. and that if 
you gave them washboards on which to rub the 
clothes, they would kneel on the boards and con- 
tinue to rub on the stones. A ploughman plough- 
ing with a crooked stick, instead of a modern 
plough, was another sight among the hills. He 
stood up to look at the train, and his red serape 
(se-rah'-pay) flapped about him most picturesque- 
ly. This is a garment worn by nearly all the men 
of the Mexican working class, though in the cities 
they are gradually giving it up, which seems a pity, 
for they usually wear it very gracefully. It is a 



54 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

square garment made of two oblong strips sewed 
or woven together, leaving an opening in the 
centre to put the head through. This is the way- 
it is worn for warmth. When not needed for this, 
it is doubled lengthwise and thrown around the 
neck or across the shoulder, and never seems to in- 
terfere in the least with the wearer's movements. 
One can find them in various colours and weaves, 
and often considerably decorated; but the favour- 
ite colour is red, and with the loose white coat and 
trousers, sandals, and peaked, broad-brimmed hat, 
or sombrero, it makes a very picturesque costume. 
Farther on, they saw a property containing 
acres of strawberries under cultivation. They 
had already tasted the Mexican strawberry and 
found it very sweet, with something of the taste of 
our wild berry, and generally smaller than our 
largest berries. Soon after this, it grew too dark 
to see, and the children, tired with all the novel 
sights they had noticed during the day, dropped 
to sleep as soon as they touched their pillows, 
saying to each other joyfully, ''To-morrow morn- 
ing we'll wake in the Valley of Mexico and get to 
Mexico City." 



CHAPTEJ& V 

THE CITY OF MEXICO 

And in tlie morning, true to their expectations, 
they awoke to find themselves gliding through the 
beautiful valley, with green fields, white villages, 
and church belfries on every hand, the circle of 
mountains that encloses all the valley plainly visi- 
ble. Two things they had hoped to see they could 
not see, however, for Mt. Popocatepetl, the 
'^ smoking mountain," and Ixtaccihuatl (Ix-tatzy- 
hwat'l), the "sleeping woman," were veiled with 
clouds so far as their snowy tops were concerned. 
''Never mind," said Mr. Stevens, "we shall see 
them often before we leave Mexico, and there will 
be plenty of other novelties this morning." 

Early as was their arrival, the station was a 
scene of great activity, all sorts of officials and 
half-officials and supernumeraries running about 
hither and thither and calling and seeming very 
busy. Outside in the station-yard were dozens of 

55 



56 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

carriages, nearly all with wretchedly thin, worn- 
looking horses. The drivers wore dark jackets 
and tall, peaked dark hats, some of felt, some of a 
furry-looking substance, all with very broad brims 
slightly turned up, and the crown often encircled 
with silver or gold braid. 

Roy 's quick eyes took in several things. ' ' See, ' ' 
he said to Ray, ''some have red stripes in their 
lamps and some have blue and some yellow. I 
wonder what that means." That was a problem 
that no amount of thinking would solve, so he 
thought it was fair to ask his father, and found 
that the blue cabs were first, the red second, and 
the yellow third class, and that the prices varied 
accordingly from one dollar to fifty cents per 
hour, Mexican. 

"But suppose you just want the man to take 
you a half-mile and leave you ? " . 

"You would have to pay him for a half -hour — 
that is the least they will take a passenger 
for." 

They soon selected a carriage with seats for 
four, "un coche (oon co'-chay) " as Mrs. Stevens 
called it, gave the driver the name of their hotel, 



THE CITY OiF MEXICO 5^ 

and took their seats. He whipped up his horses, 
and they were soon going rapidly through the 
very handsome residence streets not far from the 
station. 

''Oh, there is Christopher Columbus!" ex- 
claimed Roy as delightedly as if he had met an 
American friend. 

*'Why, yes, a monument to Christopher Colum- 
bus! What's he doing here?" said Ray, without 
thinking. ^ 

''My dearP^ exclaimed her mother, reproach- 
fully. 

"Oh, I forgot. He discovered Mexico just as 
much as the United States, didn't he?" said Ray, 
quite confused, especially as all the family were 
smiling at her mistake. 

Then they came to another monument, and this 
time none of them recognised it, though they 
found by the inscription that it was Charles IV. 
of Spain. It was a fine equestrian statue, and 
presently Mr. Stevens remembered reading of it. 
When the Spanish rule was overthrown, the mon- 
ument had been removed to the court of the 
University for safety as there was so much bitter- 



58 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ness toward the Spaniards ; and there it remained 
from 1822 to 1852, when it was placed where it 
now stands at the entrance to the fashionable 
boulevard of the city, the Paseo (Pah-say'-o) de 
la Reforma (Ray-for'-ma). It stands in a little 
circle called a glorieta (glo-ry-ay'-ta). As they 
looked down the wide, tree-bordered boulevard, 
with statues and monuments here and there, they 
had to admit that it was as fine as any street 
they had ever seen. The Mexican houses which 
they passed were usually of two or three stories, 
of stone or of plaster, and sometimes with much 
ornamental carving, lace-curtained windows, and 
beautiful doorways. 

"But they haven't any yards," said Roy. 

' ' Yes, don 't you see ? ' ' said Ray. ' ' Look through 
the doorways and you'll see the yards inside. 
They have lovely flowers and trees in them, and 
fountains sometimes." 

I doubt very much if there were trees in these 
patios or courts, but there were plants in immense 
pots and jars, as tall as small trees, banana-plants 
and palms, and there were climbing vines, some of 
them with brilliant flowers. 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 59 

''It isn't half as nice as having yards, because 
you can't see them," said Eoy. 

''Oh, I think it's nicer," said Eay, "because 
when your yard is inside, you can get the good 
of it without every one's looking at you. The 
people that have yards in New York never sit in 
them. ' ' 

"Well, I should think not," said Eoy, con- 
temptuously. 

"Well, then, what's the good of them I" per- 
sisted Eay. 

"Why, for other people to look at," rejoined 
Eoy. 

"And have to stay in the house yourself all the 
time and never get the air? I think this is much 
nicer. If other people that haven't any yards 
want to see something green, they can go and look 
at the parks and open squares, instead of staring 
in at people in their own gardens." 

Eoy was silent, but not convinced. It was not 
until some days had passed that he admitted that 
the Mexican system of building had some advan- 
tages. When they reached their hotel, they found 
it was built in the same way. There were no steps 



60 



ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 



leading up to it, but the carriage drove right- in at 
the great doorway and across a large court, to the 
corner where the office was. Three rooms were 
assigned them on the second floor, at least what we 
call the second floor, though it is first according to 
the Mexican count, and what we call the first they 
call the ground floor, as in Europe. The children 
entered their rooms with the greatest curiosity. 



Mr. & Mrs. 
Stevens' 
Room 



J 



Roy's Room 



'A 



Bay's Room 



/ 




"We haven't got any windows !" they exclaimed in 
one breath. ''We've only got a door! And there 
isn't any hall — the doors open right on the 
porch!" Their rooms opened also into the much 
larger one assigned to their father and mother, 
however, and this room had windows looking 
down upon the street. This is the plan. 

It was not so bad a plan for a family party, for 
by leaving both the doors and the windows open, 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 61 

they secured a current of air through all the 
rooms and had the benefit of overlooking both 
street and patio. This patio was not like a garden, 
however, being paved with cobblestone, with a 
stone walk around it under the gallery, but the 
decoration of the walls and the gallery was very 
fine and rich. It was a massive and imposing 
building altogether, and had once been the palace 
of the Emperor Yturbide (Ee-tur-bee'-de) during 
his short reign from May to December, 1822, 
ended by the proclamation of the Mexican Re- 
public. Yturbide was banished from the country 
for betraying the wishes of his countrymen, which 
were for a republic, but received a pension for 
his previous services to the country in securing 
her independence. He went to England, and from 
there sent back information of a plot for the 
restoration of Spanish rule. No attention was 
paid to this, and a price was put upon his head if 
he should ever return. The poor man did not 
know of this and ventured to come back, was 
arrested, condemned to death, and shot in 1824. 

All this Mr. Stevens told the children while 
they were unpacking and arranging their clothes. 



62 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

It made quite an impression upon them, and 
they felt very sorry for the man whose life had 
begun so well as a valiant soldier's and ended 
as a traitor's without his meaning to be one. 

"Just think," said Ray, leaning over the gal- 
lery and looking into the court below, "an 
emperor has often walked through this court, and 
even along this gallery. Perhaps he has slept in 
our very rooms." 

"Did they try him?" asked Roy, much dis- 
turbed. 

"Yes, my boy, the legislature was in session in 
Tamau'lipas, the state in which he landed, and he 
was brought before it to be tried." 

"Well, then, I suppose it was all right, and they 
did the best they knew, but it seems as if they 
might have believed him when he said he didn't 
mean any harm. ' ' 

"Are you ready to go out, children?" asked 
Mrs. Stevens, presently. "Father says we have 
so much time before dinner that we can spend 
several hours in sightseeing." 

"Dinner? Why, we haven't had breakfast and 
luncheon yet!" exclaimed Roy, dismayed at the 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 63 

thought of losing two meals, for he was quite 
hungry. 

''Don't be frightened!" said his mother, laugh- 
ing. "We are going down to breakfast now, and 
people here generally have dinner in the middle 
of the day. ' ' 

"Are we going to have our meals in the 
palace?" asked Ray, wondering what it might be 
like to eat in an imperial dining-room. 

"No," said Mr. Stevens, "we have taken rooms 
only— that is the plan most of the hotels follow 
here, the European one, and we shall get our meals 
at restaurants outside, or here when we feel so 
disposed. I must warn you not to eat much fruit 
here nor heavy meals until we are pretty well 
acclimated. We have come from sea-level up to a 
height of over 7000 feet in three days, and for a 
while our digestions will have to be watched. The 
heart, too, beats very much faster in this rarefied 
air, and it must not be overworked." 

"Don't the people that live here mind it?" 
asked Eay. 

"Those that are born here, or that have lived 
here a long time, become adapted to it, but you 



64 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

will notice they take certain precautions. They 
walk in the shade whenever they can, and they do 
very little from noon until about three o'clock, 
while the heat is greatest and when they are more 
or less tired with the morning's exertion. Then 
they close their shops for a few hours and take a 
siesta, or nap. Are we all ready to go down? 
Have you locked the trunk, Roy or Ray? You 
must not leave jewelry or money or anything 
valuable about in a hotel, for it is impossible to 
be sure of servants." 

' ' Do you think they would care for our books I ' ' 
asked Ray. 

''Hardly," said Mr. Stevens, smiling, "espe- 
cially as they are in English." He locked the two 
doors that opened on the gallery, and they all went 
in search of the breakfast-room. 

'The children learned several things while at 
breakfast, that the waiter is called mo'zo, that an 
omelet is a kind of tortilla, and that Mexi- 
can coffee, at breakfast time, is more than half 
hot milk. They were a little inclined to find 
fault because there was no hot bread, but their 
father told them the dry, tough, crusty rolls were 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 65 

mucli better for them, and that the very first 
characteristic of a good traveller was to adapt 
himself to the customs of the country he travelled 
in, and not to want things just as he has them at 
home. "Wliat would be the use of travelling, if 
people and things everywhere were alike?" he 
said. 

It was Sunday morning, and the best place to 
see the people seemed to be at the great Cathedral, 
where Mass was being celebrated. They were 
several blocks away from the Plaza which the 
Cathedral faces and which is usually called the 
Zocalo, though its true and formal name is Pla'za 
Mayor' de la Constitucion,- — and the children as 
they walked gazed eagerly into the shop windows 
and at the people they met. The sidewalks, even on 
the main business street, San Francisco, were only 
wide enough for two people to pass each other, so 
the Stevens family were soon walking single file. 
As they came out upon the Plaza, a great open 
square, Mr. Stevens called to the children to stop 
for a moment, so that they might get an 
impression from across the square of the great 
Cathedral. 



66 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

It was different from any church Roy and Ray 
had ever seen, and at first they were inclined to 
compare its aged and time-stained look very un- 
favourably with that of the modern churches at 
home; but the longer they stayed in Mexico and 
the more they saw of the cathedrals everywhere, 
the better they understood the beauty that comes 
to a building from age and weather, and the more 
they felt that the difference in architecture was in 
favour of the Cathedral. They went into it by one 
of the great doors and found it full of people, all 
very quiet, although you could hardly hear what 
the officiating priests were saying, and as they 
spoke in Latin many of the people could not have 
understood it anyhow. But they were as still and 
as respectful as if they heard and understood 
every word. Most of them had to stand, as there 
were not many seats, and many of them were 
kneeling on the bare tiles, praying, with their eyes 
fixed on the altar, entirely forgetful of their sur- 
roundings. This seems to be a feature of the 
Mexican character, a deep reverence in the pres- 
ence of sacred things, and it offends them very 
much for strangers to walk briskly through their 




A Beggar Boy 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 67 

churclies and speak in ordinary tones. Mrs. 
Stevens said some of the attitudes and ex- 
pressions were like those of the figures in 
paintings by the old Spanish masters. After they 
had stood awhile in silence, they came out into the 
Plaza, where things were very different indeed. 
It seemed as if all the people in the city who had 
things to peddle had come there to peddle them 
that morning. The family found a seat unoccu- 
pied and sat for over an hour absorbed in watch- 
ing the crowd. Like that in the church, it was 
composed of all classes of people, gentlemen and 
ladies, well-dressed, strolling about and chatting, 
women in rebozos, with nothing on their heads 
except when they drew this long shawl up over 
them, countrymen and workmen in peaked hats 
and white linen or cotton suits and sandals, or 
even bare feet, and beggars in rags that would 
hardly hold together. Indeed, one jolly little 
beggar-boy had his two ragged garments tied on 
him with strings. Never anywhere had they seen 
such ragged figures as they saw here. But the 
beggar-children, at least, seemed care-free and 
jolly. The beggars did not bother them by follow- 



68 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ing them, as they would have done in Europe — 
they either sat in their corners and held out their 
hands pleadingly, or let their infirmities speak for 
them after they had called attention by '■'■Nino 
(Neen'-yo) " or "Nina (Neen'-yah)," according as 
they spoke to a young man or young woman, a boy 
or a girl. The children were at first so distressed 
by the cripples and blind people they saw that 
they could hardly enjoy anything; but when they 
found a centavo would brighten the face of the 
most distressing one among them, and that, on the 
whole, the beggars were not actually suffering at 
the moment, they began to feel better. 

''Let's see how many things we can count that 
they are selling," said Ray, and she and Roy at 
once began to call out to one another, "Pineapple 
slices, one," "sliced watermelon, two," "balloons, 
three," "all kinds of candies, four," "all kinds 
of cakes, five," "figs and something else, yellow, 
six," ("The yellow fruits are mangoes," said 
Mr. Stevens), "lemonade, or something like it, 
seven," "little shortcakes, eight," "brooms, 
nine," "brushes, ten," "flowers, eleven," "char- 
coal, twelve," "water- jars, thirteen," "milk, four- 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 69 

teen," ''water, fifteen," and so on. You see, the 
Plaza was a very busy market tliat morning. 

At last they rose, and strolling around the end 
of the Cathedral, came unexpectedly to the flower- 
market, which I shall tell you about in another 
chapter. 



CHAPTER VI 

MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 

The flower-market is held in a good-sized 

pavilion at one end of the Cathedral, in a shady 

corner of the Plaza. The great day is Sunday, but 

every day there are numbers of country people 

there with their bouquets ready made, generally 

each of one kind of flower, their funeral designs 

made up in appropriate flowers, and their great 

jars or tubs full of flowers that need a great deal 

of water. There were so many kinds of beautiful 

roses that Ray, who was very fond of flowers, 

could only shake her head in astonishment and 

wish she had money enough to buy them all. 

There were pansies of rich purple and brown, 

much larger than most of ours, asters, and dahlias 

and gladioli all in gorgeous colours, and great 

stalks of blue flowers like small lilies, and clusters 

of a great purple lily, flowers none of them had 

ever seen before. There were ragged robins, and 

70 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 71 

nasturtiums, and lady-slippers, and there was a 
tubful of the bluest and most perfect forget-me- 
nots that any of them had ever seen. ''What do 
you call these?" asked Mrs. Stevens of a little 
Mexican boy who seemed to belong there. 

"No-mi-olvidas (No-me-ol-vee'-das)," was his 
answer. 

"It is the same as with us!" exclaimed Mrs. 

Stevens. 

''What is the English name?" asked the boy. 

"Forget-me-not," replied Mrs. Stevens, which 
he repeated after her with a perfect accent but 
evidently thinking it a very curious word, for he 
and his friends laughed at the strange-sounding 
name the Americans had for the little no-mi- 
olvidas. Mrs. Stevens, knowing that it might be 
some time before they got back to their rooms, 
bought only a cluster of the little blue lily-like 
flowers which had a stiff stalk and would not 
wilt easily, and they were about to pass on when 
their attention was caught by a very funny sight. 
Two little boys, apparently brothers and also beg- 
gars, or, at least, very poor, judging from their 
rags, were struggling together on the ground, the 



72 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

little one trying to get something from the larger 
one. At last the big one got up, and when the 
little one scrambled up to follow him, they saw he 
had no trousers on and that the big boy was run- 
ning off with them to tease him. The little one 
finally prevailed upon his brother to give him back 
his garment and sat down on the ground and put 
it on as if he had been in his bedroom instead of 
out on a public street. When he was clothed 
again, Mrs. Stevens asked the two boys to stand 
for their picture, promising them ten centavos. 
They stood willingly, and then they all saw that 
the younger one had on© foot twisted backward, so 
that it was hard for him to walk. When Mrs. 
Stevens paid the older boy, the little one looked 
disappointed, so she said, "Remember, half of it is 
for him." "Yes, yes," said the older boy, "five 
for me and five for him, ' ' and they strolled away 
with arms about each other's necks. 

A little while afterward, the congregation 
having come out of the Cathedral, the family went 
into it again to look about as they could not when 
service was going on. They sat down quietly, and 
presently they heard the patter of bare feet. 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 73 

They turned, at least the children did, and here 
were the two little beggars, the older carrying the 
younger pickaback. Without seeing the Stevenses, 
he carried the little cripple to the foot of one of 
the side altars and let him down, and there they 
both knelt, saying prayers very devoutly. The 
little one even managed, in spite of his twisted 
foot, to go up the steps of the altar on his knees. 

''Do you suppose they are thanking God for 
that ten-cent piece?" whispered Ray to Roy, but 
he shook his head for her not to talk in the church. 
When they went out they encountered the boys 
again and got a flashing smile from their little 
white teeth, and every day they went through the 
Zocalo they saw the interesting couple and re- 
ceived a smile of recognition from them. "They 
seem so happy," said Ray, much puzzled, "I don't 
see how I could be happy, all rags and dirt." 

"When you were a little thing, you used to cry 
when you had to be bathed and have clean clothes 
put on you," said her mother, "and so did Roy. 
Children, as a rule, don't object to being let 
alone, when it comes to washing and dressing. 
It is only because we kept on doing it that you 



74 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

gradually came to like it and feel that it was 
necessary. I suppose these little fellows have had 
nobody to look after them and don't know how 
nice it is to be clean and have whole clothes to 
put on. I dare say they wouldn't change places 
with you, if they knew all the things you have to 
do — to brush your hair and your teeth, to bathe 
every day, to wear shoes, to keep your hands 
clean, to wear a hat on the street, and to do all 
the things that well-brought-up people think neces- 
sary. ' ' 

' ' Then I suppose we were just savages when we 
were little," said Ray, thoughtfully. 

' ' Not that exactly, but you were more than any- 
thing else little animals, and we wanted you to be 
something better when you grew up." 

Ray thought a little while in silence, then she 
came to her mother and pressed her hand affec- 
tionately. "Thank you, mother," she said, "I 
suppose it was a great deal of trouble." 

After luncheon, which they had at a restaurant, 
the party went to their rooms to rest until three 
o'clock, after which they were going to make a 
little excursion by tram (street-car) to Guada- 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 75 

lupe, one of the suburbs. Mr. Stevens said that, 
as they were unused to the altitude, they would 
better drive or go in trams in the afternoon after 
their rest, and do their walking and harder sight- 
seeing in the morning. The children thought they 
should be quite unable to take a nap, but they had 
got up so early in the morning and had been going 
so steadily ever since, that they no sooner took off 
their clothes than they found themselves very 
sleepy. 

At three, they awoke refreshed and were soon 
ready to start. They went back to the Zocalo to 
get the tram for Guadalupe, and found the same 
constantly moving crowd as in the morning. 
"Everything seems to go from here and come 
back here," said Eoy, as cars came by, marked 
"Tacubaya," " Chapultepec, " "Mixcoac," "San- 
ta Maria," "San Angel," and finally "Guada- 
lupe." The cars were open electric cars, and it 
seemed quite like home to find a crowd trying to 
get on and scrambling for places. However, the 
Stevenses managed to get seats together, and as 
the car stood for some time before it started, Mr. 
Stevens had an opportunity to point out some of 



76 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the surrounding buildings that he thought it 
would interest the children to know about. 

''I showed you which was the National Palace 
this morning," he said, pointing to a long, three- 
storied building that occupied one side or end of 
the Plaza. The Mexican flag of red, green, and 
white stripes flew from a flag-staff over the great 
clock in the centre, the sentries stood at the main 
entrance, and the soldiers were passing in and 
out. One would have known at once that it was a 
public building. 

' ' Does the President live there 1 ' ' asked Roy. 

"No," said his father, "he has his business 
offices there, but he has a private residence in 
another part of the city, and in the summer stays 
out at Chapultepec. Do you see the bell hanging 
over the principal gateway?" 

"Yes," said both the children, expectantly. 

"Well, that is to the Mexicans what our Liberty 
Bell is to us. It used to hang in the little Church 
of Dolores (Do-lo'-rays), in the State of Guana- 
juato (gwah-na-hwa'-to). The movement for an 
independent Mexico was started by the priest of 
that church, Father Hidalgo (Hee-dal'-go) , in 1810. 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 77 

One niglit lie rang this bell in the middle of the 
night, and the people, not knowing what it meant, 
obeyed the call and came together in the church, 
and found that it was a summons to follow Father 
Hidalgo in the war for independence. His call 
has been named the^rn^o (Grree'-toh: cry) of Mexi- 
can independence, and every year, for many years, 
on the anniversary of that night, the President 
has appeared on the balcony and pronounced the 
Grito in the hearing and followed by the patriotic 
applause of thousands of Mexicans. The words 
are 'Long live our mother, most holy Guadalupe, 
long live America, death to bad government. ' ' ' 

"My! Roy, wouldn't you like to be here then?" 
exclaimed Ray. 

"It must be very stirring, especially to Ameri- 
cans, whose experience was so similar," said Mr. 
Stevens. ' ' The bell was brought here in 1896, and 
now it is rung as it was on that eventful night in 
the little church. The procession which brought it 
to the palace was very imposing. The bell itself 
rested on a car with golden wheels and decorated 
with flowers, with the eagle of Mexico attached to 
the front of the car, seeming to lead the way. All 



78 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

about the bell were relics of the war of independ- 
ence, and the car was followed by a great pro- 
cession of military and civic dignitaries, and then 
by soldiers and the people. When the bell was 
finally in place, a thousand doves with bands of 
the Mexican colours around their necks were loosed 
from the roof by those holding them, and flew all 
over the country carrying the news. In the even- 
ing, at the hour of the original summons, when the 
Plaza was packed with expectant people, Presi- 
dent Diaz appeared on the balcony and in the 
midst of deep silence gave four strokes to the bell. 
A great shout went up, and all the bells in all the 
towers added their chimes to the rejoicing, 
coloured fires shone from the buildings, and the 
bands played, while the people nearly went wild 
with enthusiasm over this village bell which had 
meant so much to Mexico." 

' ' Then that day is the same to the Mexicans as 
the Fourth of July is to us ! " suggested Roy. 

"Yes, the 16th of September is the National 
Holiday. ' ' 

"Shall we see President Diaz, father?" asked 
Eay. 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 79 

'^I think very likely," said Mr. Stevens, "as he 
is very courteously going to assist at the Fourth 
of July celebration this week, at which, of course, 
every American in the city is expected to be 
present." 

"Oh, jolly!" exclaimed the children. And just 
then the car started, and they became all eyes for 
the sights that surrounded them on the streets. 
The tram for Guadalupe takes one through many 
of the poorer streets, and the hasty views of in- 
teriors that the family got as they passed were 
not very attractive though exceedingly interesting. 
Some of the rooms in the poorer quarters were 
clean and inviting, but the majority of them were 
not. "Poor things," said Mrs. Stevens, as they 
passed a stone-curbed well where several women 
•were filling great jars and cans with water, "per- 
haps we should not be so very clean, ourselves, if 
we had to carry all our water from a street 
well." 

"Why, don't they have any water pipes?" 
"Not in all the houses as we have. Have you 
not seen the water-carriers going about with their 
great cans of drinking water T' 



80 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

' ^ Oh, yes, so I have, ' ' said Ray, remembering. 

The eyes of the whole party were kept so busy 
that they were all surprised when they reached 
Guadalupe and found themselves in front of the 
great Cathedral, one of the most beautiful in 
Mexico. In spite of the semi-darkness of the in- 
terior^ they could see fairly well the painted pic- 
ture of the Madonna of Guadalupe up over the 
high altar. And while they sat there, Mrs. 
Stevens, who had been looking up its history, 
told them the story of the patron saint of all 
Mexico. 

"The Aztecs, the tribe of Indians inhabiting 
this part of Mexico when the Spaniards came, had 
a deity they called the Mother of Gods, and they 
worshipped her on this hill behind the spot where 
the Cathedral now stands. The Spanish priests, 
finding that they could not stop this idolatry, 
decided to transfer the worship to a Christian 
object and managed to connect with the spot a 
Christian legend, so that the Indians who were 
attached to the hill and came here to worship 
should really be worshipping the Madonna. The 
story goes that a Christian Indian who passed the 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 81 

hillside on his way to Mass, heard the sound of 
singing and saw the vision of a beautiful woman 
who gave him a message to the bishop, that he was 
to build a temple in her honour on that very hill. 
The Indian took the message, but was not believed, 
and several times he saw the vision and carried 
the order before any attention was paid to him, 
and even then there had to be a miracle to make 
the bishop believe. The to^D of the hill was 
nothing but a barren rock, but the vision told the 
Indian to gather flowers from it and as she spoke 
the flowers suddenly grew there. The Indian 
gathered them into his cloak, or tilma, made from 
the fibre of the maguey (mah-gway') plant, and 
started back to the bishop, and the vision dis- 
appeared, and where it had stood a spring of cold 
water gushed forth that has to this day healing 
properties, the Indians believe. 

' ' Coming again to the bishop, the Indian opened 
his tilma and dropped the flowers, and behold ! the 
image of the vision appeared upon the cloak in 
beautiful colours. The bishop no longer doubted. 
He built a chapel where the flowers had grown 
and placed the picture in it. This was in 1532, 



82 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Over a hundred years later the Pope recognised 
the Twelfth of December, the day when the vision 
was last seen, as the day of Mexico's protectress 
and patroness, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and so 
this was made also a national holiday. The 
people, especially the Indians, were so pleased to 
have a saint all of their own, that they have made 
great pilgrimages to the shrine on that day ever 
since. The image is supposed to have miraculous 
powers when the people are in danger, and once 
when the Valley of Mexico was inundated, the 
clergy took the image in a barge at night and 
carried it to the Cathedral of Mexico, with music 
and candles and the prayers and hymns of the 
people for accompaniment. The waters gradu- 
ally subsided, and the image was carried back and 
kept in the parish church until this Cathedral was 
built in 1709." 

"Who is that marble statue?" asked Ray. 

' ^ On one side of the picture is the marble image 
of the bishop, on the other that of the Indian, 
Juan Diego (Whan Dee-ay'-go) , and the archbishop 
under whom the Cathedral was completed kneels 
in marble before the altar. Pope Leo XIII, who 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 83 

died several years ago, you reraember, wrote the 
following inscription in Latin to be placed up 
above the altar : 

" 'The Mexican people rejoice in worshipping 
Thee, Holy Mother, under this miraculous Image, 
and in looking to Thee for protection. 

" 'May that people through Thee flourish in 
happiness, and aver, under Thy auspices, grow 
stronger in the faith of Christ. ' ' ' 

''"Well, it's a beautiful story, anyhow," said 
Eay. "I think it was quite natural that the 
Indians should want a saint of their own, when 
every country has one." 

''I don't see what a republic wants of a saint — 
we haven't got any," said Roy. 

"No," replied Ray, ''we've only got George 
Washington — and Martha. But I don't suppose 
we could have her for a saint — she wasn't living 
long enough ago. You have to have lived at least 
several hundred years ago to be a saint, don't 
you, mother?" 

"I think it takes at least that, usually. You 
know they have been trying to make a saint of 
Joan of Arc for a long time and have just lately 



84 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

succeeded in having her recognised as one by the 
church. ' ' 

"Well, I'd be willing to have her for my coun- 
try's saint," exclaimed Roy, "she's just my kind. 
She did save her country, or tried to, and every- 
body knows she did. ' ' 

All around the walls of the Cathedral, which 
the party now began to examine with much in- 
terest, were fine paintings illustrating the history 
of the image. The picture itself is very beautiful, 
and the crown above it, made of jewels and gold 
given by the women of Mexico, was put in place in 
1895. It was a great day for the faithful, who 
came in thousands and tens of thousands from all 
over the country to witness the coronation, or, at 
least, to kneel on the ground outside while the 
event was going on, for only some hundreds could 
get into the Cathedral. 

From the Cathedral, the party visited the beauti- 
ful little chapel which was built over the place 
where the vision stood and the spring gushed 
forth. The spring is just inside the door, and the 
visitors going through generally stop to drink or 
touch the water, which is supposed to have healing 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 85 

qualities. Then they climbed laboriously the 
steep, winding, cobble-paved hill behind the Cathe- 
dral, to the little chapel built over the spot where 
the roses grew that sprung from the rock. Here 
they were caught in the rain, and had to wait for 
the shower to pass over, for the rainy season 
having begun one might with reason expect at 
least a little rain every afternoon or evening. On 
the way up,Eoy suddenly exclaimed, ''Well, that's 
queer ! Sails made of stone ! What are they up 
here for, I wonder. ' ' 

''They say some sailors who were saved by a 
miracle, as they thought, from shipwreck, walked 
all the way from Vera Cruz carrying their ship's 
sails and encased them here in stone as a thank- 
offering to the Virgin, to whom they had prayed, 
and who had delivered them from danger. But no 
date is known for the story, and the true history 
and meaning of the sails are lost," explained Mrs. 
Stevens. 

During the rain, there were several other people 
who took refuge in the chapel, among them a little 
family of father, mother, and two babies; the 
father a young soldier. They bought ribbons that 



86 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

had been blessed from the woman who was selling 
such things in the chapel, and tied them around 
the necks of the babies, and went away seeming to 
feel that they had done what they could to pre- 
serve the little things from harm. 

When the rain had about ceased, the party 
visited the cemetery behind the chapel, looking not 
so much at the tombs as at the wonderful view 
extended before their eyes. Even Popocate- 
petl could be seen dimly, with his snowy, peaked 
cap. 

''Santa Anna is buried here somewhere," said 
Mr. Stevens, and finally they came across the 
tomb, which was not especially prominent. 

''Was he a great man, father!" asked Roy. 

"No, I think not. He was on the right side 
in the Mexican war, of course, and in the war 
against the French, in which he lost his leg; but 
afterward he spoiled it all by trying to have him- 
self made dictator." 

' ' I wish you would tell us about the war against 
the French, ' ' said Roy. 

"Another day, my boy. I think you and Ray 
have taken in enough information for one day. 



MEXICO CITY AND GUADALUPE 87 

It 's going to rain again, too, and we must get back 
to the city. Besides, my business friend, Mr. 
Clarke, is to call on me this evening, and I must be 
at the hotel in good season. ' ' 

As they came down the hill, the children 
stopped to buy some tiny cakes or quesadillas 
(kay-sa-dee'-yas), made and sold by a neat, pleas- 
ant-looking woman stationed beside the road. 
They were a kind of sweetened tortilla, very 
smooth and rich, and fairly melted in one's mouth. 
Ordinarily, the family did not care to buy eatables 
from street-stands, but these cakes were so deli- 
cious they were very glad they had not been afraid 
to try them. 



CHAPTER VII 
MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 

When Mr. Stevens' friend had gone that even- 
ing, the children were asleep, so that they did not 
hear the good news their father had to tell them 
nntil the next morning. At breakfast, he gave 
them two pleasant surprises, one, an invitation to 
them as well as to their father and mother, to dine 
at the Clarkes' and go with them to a pelota game 
afterward, and the other an opportunity, in all 
probability, to sit in the reviewing stand the next 
day and have the honour of shaking hands with 
the President. The children had fortunately 
nearly finished their breakfast or they would 
scarcely have been able to eat any, they were so 
excited and pleased at the prospect. It seemed as 
if the day would be just one long waiting for the 
evening, but very soon they found that their 
father had plans for the morning. 

'*We will take the tram and go out to Tacubaya, 

88 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 89 

this morning, partly for the ride and partly to see 
the suburbs, ' ' he said, ' ' and on the way I can tell 
you something about the great man you are to see 
to-morrow. ' ' 

So they all proceeded again to the Plaza, and 
took the tram for Tacubaya. This is a suburb out 
beyond Chapultepec, so that in addition to the 
streets of the city, and the new Colonia Eoma 
where many new and expensive houses were being 
built, they had glimpses also of the Paseo, or 
boulevard, and of the Castle of Chapultepec on its 
rock with its surrounding gardens. "Why don't 
we go there to-day?" asked Roy, who was anxious 
to see the monument. 

''Because when we do that we want to kill two 
birds with one stone and see the driving also. If 
we come in the afternoon we can see the castle 
first, all that is shown to strangers, and can then 
take our seats in the park below at the fashionable 
hour for driving and see all the handsome equi- 
pages and beautiful ladies." 

"Humph!" said Roy, who was not much inter- 
ested in beautiful ladies. 

After Chapultepec they passed through other 



90 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

suburbs, each with its little, old church, very often 
quite beautiful or picturesque, its little plaza with 
fine old trees and brilliant flowers, and its walled 
private gardens over which flowering vines were 
trailing and the tops of trees could be seen. 

' ' They must be lovely, inside, ' ' sighed Ray. 

"We shall see some gardens before we leave 
Mexico," said her mother. 

As they went along, the children kept pointing 
out to each other the little things that were new 
to them along the road; the women making tor- 
tillas (very thin corn cakes) in the doorways, 
patting them thin with their hands on a flat stone 
or platter — the water-carrier in his leather cuirass 
and helmet, with a great metal jar in front and 
one behind, held on by a strap across his leather- 
protected forehead — the processions of donkeys 
loaded with charcoal or wood or straw, and never 
going faster than an easy walk— the carts with 
only two wheels, but these very large, as high as 
the cart or higher — and a street-car, all painted 
white and looking like a child's hearse, the front 
end of which was arranged for carrying a 
coffin. 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 91 

''Why, mother, do they go to funerals on street- 
cars 1 ' ' asked Ray, quite shocked. 

''It seems so," said Mrs. Stevens, "the car lines 
go to the cemeteries and so the people have trains 
of cars reserved and all follow the hearse in that 
way, often carrying their floral pieces with them. 
This is the first time I have seen a car arranged as 
a hearse, however, for nearly always there is a 
real hearse to lead the procession. ' ' 

"Well, if they have reserved cars, it's all 
right," said Ray, "but I should hate to go to a 
funeral in a car anybody could get into." 

' ' I thought you were going to tell us about Pres- 
ident Diaz, father, ' ' said Roy, as they reached the 
terminus at Tacubaya, and waited for the car to 
start back. 

"So I was. I intended to tell you something 
about his career as president only, but when 
I came to look into his history I found his 
early life so interesting and full of adventure that 
I thought you would enjoy that even more. He 
was born at Oaxaca (Wah-hah'-ca) in 1830." 

"Why, we're going there! Do they show the 
place?" asked Roy. 



92 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Plardly, I imagine. The place is a sugar fac- 
tory now. It will be easy to remember his birth- 
day because it was the 15th of September, the day 
before the National holiday. Mexico had been a 
republic since 1821, but was almost always in a 
state of confusion, what with the factions in the 
government and the small revolutions springing 
up in various parts of the country. Porfirio's 
father died when the boy was three years old, and 
his mother brought him up. Until he was seven 
years of age he went to a primary school, and 
from eight to fourteen to a secondary school, in 
the meantime acting as errand boy to help out the 
family finances, for his mother had not much to 
live on. He then entered the seminary where he 
was to have his theological education, for his 
mother wished him to be a priest. The Mexican 
War took place while he was a student and he 
volunteered, but was called to serve only as part 
of the local militia. ' ' 

'' Excuse me, father, but is he a Mexican or a 
Spaniard, or an Indian ? ' ' asked Roy. 

''He is a Mexican, for through his great-grand- 
mother he has some Indian blood, but his father 's 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 93 

family came from Asturias in Spain at the time of 
the Conquest. While he studied at the seminary 
he also tutored to help pay his expenses ; and when 
he decided, much to his mother's disappointment, 
to be a lawyer instead of a priest, he had to rely 
entirely on his own resources. So he continued to 
take pupils, and became also librarian of the in- 
stitute. ' ' 

"My! I'm glad he didn't become a priest!" 
exclaimed Roy. 

"He might have been a great one like that other 
one. Father Hidalgo, ' ' said Ray. 

"Yes, but he never could have been presi- 
dent." 

"When he graduated, he entered the law office 
of Juarez (War'-ez), who was one day to be presi- 
dent, and also taught Roman law in the school he 
had just graduated from. 

"His military adventures began in the revolt 
against Santa Anna, who had had himself pro- 
claimed dictator of Mexico. Diaz took a prom- 
inent part in this revolt and had to flee, but 
returned when the dictator was expelled, and was 
made mayor of a little town called Ixtlan. Here 



94 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

lie showed his ability and his military tendency by 
creating an excellent militia out of the Indians of 
the village, training and drilling them continually. 
He has never seemed to care anything about 
money or fame. When the captaincy of the 
National guard was offered him, he took it though 
the salary was smaller than his salary as mayor. 
And he has been reckless of his own safety and 
health many times. In one of the small revolu- 
tions about this time, he was wounded and could 
not get to a doctor for a week, and it was a year 
before the bullet was extracted. His next post 
was as mayor of Tehuantepec (Tay-wan'-te-pec), 
a rather isolated place, where he served two years, 
straightening out the town's affairs and showing 
that he could do other things besides fighting. He 
was next made deputy to Congress from his home?- 
district, Oaxaca, and during the war against the 
French invaders he was chief of brigade of 
Oaxaca. He did some very brilliant things during 
this war, once holding off a thousand French 
zouaves with only a handful of lancers, and only 
yielding when most of his men were gone and 
himself a wounded prisoner. Even then, however, 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 95 

he managed to get to his horse unnoticed, get on 
him, and flee, followed by a shower of bullets. 
Another time— it was the 5th of May, 1862 : there 
is a street in the city here named Cinco de Mayo 
for this engagement— he met a body of trained 
French soldiers with his undisciplined men and 
routed them completely. At the siege of Puebla, 
where he held part command of the defence, the 
French got into the first courtyard of the building 
Diaz was holding. Diaz ran out alone and fired 
the fieldpiece that commanded the gate, doing 
considerable execution, and having by this brave 
act inspired his men, led them out into the court- 
yard, drove out the invaders, and closed up the 
breach they had made. The city had to surrender 
finally, but Diaz refused to give his parole, was 
taken prisoner, and escaped. ' ' 

''What's that, not to give his parole?" asked 

Eay. 

"It means he refused to promise that he would 
not try to escape," said Mr. Stevens. 

"Juarez, who was now president, offered to 
make him secretary of war or commander of an 
army corps, but he declined, saying that such pro- 



96 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

motion for so young a man would probably make 
trouble. ' ' 

*' Wasn't he just fine!" exclaimed Roy. 

^'During the time that the capital was in the 
hands of the French, Juarez was driven from 
place to place about the country with the presi- 
dency ''under his hat"; and there was more or 
less dissatisfaction in various parts of the country, 
but Diaz at Oaxaca kept his district of the country 
together and was really the hope of the republic. 
In 1865, the French forces under Marshal Bazaine 
shut him up in Oaxaca, and tried to bribe him by 
offers of a fine position in the imperial army of 
Maximilian, but in vain." 

"Well, I should think so," said Roy, indig- 
nantly. 

"The town had to give way at last, and all but 
three of the officers pledged themselves to neutral- 
ity. Diaz was one of the three, and was imprisoned 
in Puebla, in the State College, where he escaped 
by scaling the wall, with a price of ten thousand 
dollars on his head. For weeks he kept up a kind 
of guerrilla warfare, winning small victories that 
roused the courage of those who had been inclined 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 97 

to give up; and at this point the United States, 
whose civil war was off its hands, came to the 
rescue. ' ' 

''I'm glad of that!" exclaimed both chil- 
dren. 

''Secretary Seward sent word to Napoleon III 
that the United States disapproved of the estab- 
lishment of an empire in the western hemisphere, 
and in 1866 Napoleon notified Maximilian, the 
Emperor, that he would call off his troops at the 
end of a year. This was a blow for Maximilian, 
but he tried one more dodge, offering Diaz the 
presidency instead of Juarez. Diaz did not even 
notice the offer." 

"Good!" exclaimed Roy, "it wasn't Maxi- 
milian's to give!" 

"For a year, Diaz fought in a way to com- 
mand every one's admiration and astonishment. 
He was most humane to his prisoners, and he was 
often successful in securing voluntary loans of 
money and credit where another commander would 
have thought it necessary to force them. At last, 
it was a question of taking the Capital only. Diaz 
wag unwilling to injure the city by bombardment, 



98 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

so he gave what is called 'The Five Days' Battle' 
outside the city. General Escobedo (Es-co-bay'- 
do), who had been fighting Maximilian at Quere- 
taro (Kay-ray'-ta-ro), finally conquered, and Max- 
imilian and his two generals were executed. The 
City of Mexico surrendered the next day, and 
Diaz was able to welcome the exiled president, 
Juarez, with great public rejoicings on- July 15, 
1867. He himself, after reorganising the army, 
retired to private life in Oaxaca, where the 
authorities gave him an estate, and he settled 
down with his first wife, whom he had married 
during the war." 

Ml. Stevens paused for breath after his long 
speech, but the children were by no means satis- 
fied. 

''And then? And theuT' they asked. "Wheu 
did he get to be president ? ' ' 

*'0h, Roy, to think we're going to see this hero 
to-morrow, and maybe shake hands with him ! It 
scares me, doesn't it youf" 

"No," said Roy, soberly, "but I don't feel 
good enough. It hardly seems as if it could 
happen, ' ' 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 99 

''Well, as you may imagine, there were many 
people who wanted Diaz for president. They felt 
as we did about General Grant, that he had been 
the hero of the war and had saved the country, and 
that he ought to have the greatest reward the 
country could give. But Juarez was in, and was 
not a bad president, by any means, and though 
there was room for a contest as to the result of the 
election, Diaz refused to put in any claim, and 
Juarez held the presidency until his death in 1872. 
He is known as the Indian president. There was 
still another president before Diaz, and he offered 
Diaz positions of honour under the government, but 
they were not accepted, and the soldier continued 
in private life until 1876. By that time misman- 
agement of the country had led to revolutions on 
all sides, and the president, recognising Diaz as a 
dangerous rival, had sent him out of the country, 
and for a short time he lived in the United States, 
in Texas. When things in Mexico reached such a 
pass that something had to be done, Diaz, feeling 
that he was the one man who could straighten out 
the tangle and hold the reins, marched back into 
Mexico with forty soldiers at his back, a number 
LOfC 



100 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

which increased steadily as he marched ; but as he 
could not work through to the South by land, he 
went back to New Orleans and started by boat to 
Vera Cruz. In the harbour of Tampico, he was 
recognised by some former prisoners of his, and 
another of his romantic adventures began. Lest 
he be taken prisoner, he jumped overboard at 
night, without fear of the man-eating sharks of 
which the waters there were full, but was over- 
taken and carried back." 

A rueful ' ' Oh ! ' ' burst from both the children. 

''One of the officers, who was friendly to him, 
concealed him then in a sort of box-seat, and every 
evening officers of his enemy's army sat on it and 
played cards, never dreaming of his presence. 
Disguised as a sailor, he got ashore safely at Vera 
Cruz and made his way back to Oaxaca, where he 
soon raised his standard over a considerable body 
of followers. An army was sent to capture him, 
but instead was captured. Diaz marched on tri- 
umphantly to the City of Mexico, whence the pres- 
ident—whose last election was undoubtedly won 
by fraud — had fled to the United States. Diaz 
assumed the presidency provisionally, and in 1877 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 101 

was elected constitutional president. There has 
been but one other president since then, from 
1880-83, and his administration put a stop to 
progress. Then in 1884, Diaz was re-elected and 
has been re-elected in every campaign since then. 
In 1904, the Mexican Congress passed a law 
making the presidential term six years. There is 
little danger of any serious disturbance of his 
administration. ' ' 

Eoy and Eay gave a sigh of satisfaction, and 
were surprised to hear their mother say, ' ' But the 
things he has accomplished as president have been 
best of all, haven 't they 1 ' ' 

*'Yes," said Mr. Stevens, ''his hand has been 
the strongest Mexico has ever had at the helm, 
and one can understand when one comes here and 
sees the people that a paternal government is 
what Mexico needs, though the forms are those of 
a republic. ' ' 

"Why, isn't Mexico a republic?" asked Roy, 
surprised. 

' ' Not in the sense that our country is, ' ' was his 
father's reply. "There is no real manhood- 
suffrage here — that is, not every man votes, for 



102 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

many of the people are entirely unfit to govern 
themselves. Only educated men vote, and the 
others never dream of protesting, apparently. 
Never having had a vote they do not feel dis- 
franchised, and so long as the country is peaceful 
and prosperous, they have no cause of complaint. 
Perhaps, years from now, when public education 
shall have done its work, the country may be a 
republic in the full sense of the word as we under- 
stand it. ' ' 

''Tell the children some of the things Diaz has 
done, as president," suggested Mrs. Stevens. 

"Well, for one thing he put an end to brigand- 
age. The country had been infested with robber 
bands and travel was more unsafe than in any 
other part of the world. Diaz held a parley with 
the captains of the banditti and gave them their 
choice — either to stop robbing and plundering 
and to be formed into a sort of country mounted 
police to keep the countryside in order, or to be 
speedily put to death. They knew that he meant 
what he said, and choosing to be mounted con- 
stabulary, were formed into bodies of what are 
called the rurales (ru-ral'-es). They kept their 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 103 

word and ceased plundering, and the present 
rurales, who never were banditti, are a most valu- 
able set of officers. When they take part in pro- 
cessions, the people applaud them more than any 
others, partly, I suppose, because there were some 
romantic, popular heroes among the original 
brigands. ' ' 

''Wasn't that a smart trick?" exclaimed Eoy, 
admiringly, while Ray said, ''It's just like what 
Aunt Susie did when she had those bad boys in 
the mission school. She found out the worst one 
and gave him charge of the conduct of the other 
boys, and he was the best help she had. ' ' 

"Another thing Diaz did was to bring harmony 
into the relations between the states. Mexico has 
twenty-eight states, and they were so jealous of 
one another that they had different and conflicting 
laws and taxed one another's goods, so that a 
citizen had to go through the customs every time 
he crossed a state line. This was all done away 
with, and gradually the railroad and telegraph 
were introduced, binding the states together, until 
now Mexico has as cheap and good railway service 
as any in the world; cheaper than that of the 



104 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

United States.* He introduced civil service into 
the public business, so that a good official is not 
afraid of being removed because of his politics. 
He found that Mexican money had no standing 
at all in other countries; and he has given the 
country national credit by improving the currency. 
And, best of all, because it is most likely to have 
lasting effects and to secure the future, he has 
established public schools in every part of the 
country, to which parents are required to send 
their children; normal schools to train teachers, 
and industrial schools to fit young people for 
making a living." Mr. Stevens paused a minute, 
and then asked, "Well, what do you think of 
himf" 

"Why, father, I don't see but that he's as big 
as Washington — and Washington had smart men 
to help him, and Diaz has had to do it all alone," 
said Roy. 

' ' No, not that exactly — he has had and has some 
very able men in his cabinet ; but he is responsible 
for originating the idea of all this and for finding 

* Very recently the g-overnment has bought all the railroad 
lines owned by Mexican companies. 



MEXICO'S PRESIDENT 105 

the men who could carry it out. One of his latest 
steps has been to make the teaching of English 
compulsory in the public schools, so that the 
people, in future, will have two native languages, 
so to speak." 

''Father, you said something about his first 
wife. Did she die?" asked Ray. "Yes, in 1880, 
after they had been married thirteen years. In 
1883, he married his present wife, a very beauti- 
ful, distinguished, and cultivated woman. He has 
one son, named for his father, and two daughters. ' ' 

"And we are going to see him to-morrow!" re- 
peated Ray, -squeezing Roy's hand with such 
ardour as to call the attention of some Mexican 
gentlemen, who could not help smiling. This re- 
minded her that she was on a street-car, and 
gradually their attention was attracted again by 
the street sights as they approached their stop- 
ping-place. 



CHAPTER VIII 

MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 

The evening came at last, and the Stevens 
family found themselves at the entrance to the 
patio of the Clarkes' home. It was a detached 
house, so that the rooms around the patio had 
light from outside as well as from the court, which 
is not the case with most Mexican houses, as they 
are built usually close together. The patio was 
lighted by an electric light, which was not in a 
prominent place and which flooded the court with 
a very fair imitation of moonlight, outlining the 
shadows of the vines and potted plants on the 
cement floor and making the water of the fountain 
glitter as it rose and fell. A mocking-bird in a 
cage was singing as they entered, and there was 
the scent of roses everywhere. Ray, in particular, 
thought it enchanting. A Mexican servant wel- 
comed them in English and brought them to the 
stairway which led to the living-rooms, and at the 

106 



MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 107 

top of the stairs stood Mr. Clarke and his wife 
and son, a boy of twelve years of age. It was very 
delightful to meet Americans and be able to dis- 
cuss American affairs, for even to the Stevenses, 
who were only a little more than two weeks away 
from home, the States seemed very distant, while 
to the Clarkes, who had not been in the States 
for two years, arrivals so recent were a mine of 
information and news. So they were soon in ani- 
mated conversation, comparing things Mexican 
with things American, while Harry Clarke was 
very glad to show Roy and Ray his tools, his 
games, and even his text-books, in all which they 
were very much interested. 

^ ' Do you go to school here ? ' ' asked Roy. 

^'Yes, now I do. They were going to send me 
to the States to school, but there has been an 
American school started here, with American 
teachers and books and American ways of teach- 
ing, so mother is very glad to keep me here a few 
years longer. I shall be able to ^et ready for 
college down here just as well as anywhere. ' ' 

' ' Do all the American boys and girls go to it ? " 
asked Roy. 



108 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''A great many do. It is quite a large school. 
This year we have 195 pupils to begin with, 115 
boys and 80 girls," 

''Why, has school begun?" asked Ray, in aston- 
ishment. 

''Yes, the schools here have only one or two 
months of vacation, and the American school 
begins the second week in July. I have been at 
school all day to-day. ' ' 

"Dear me!" exclaimed Ray, "only one month's 
vacation. I don't think I should like that." 

"Oh, of course, we have a vacation at Christ- 
mas and there are other holidays. But you know 
it isn't hot here in summer, as it is in the States, so 
there's no reason why we shouldn't have school." 

"Is the school just for the City of Mexico!" 
asked Ray. 

' ' Oh, no ! Boys and girls come from Vera Cruz 
and Puebla and from the states of Hidalgo and 
Guanajuato, wherever there are American fam- 
ilies. And there is a special car run from Mixcoac 
(Mix'-kwak) for the children that live in the 
suburbs, and there is always a teacher on the car 
to look after the children." 



MEXICAN SPECLILTIES 109 

"TTliT, do any very little children come?'' asked 
Eoy, who thought that otherwise this precaution 
was quite unnecessary. 

''Yes. the school has a kindergarten, all the 
grammar grades, and a high school. It is a fine 
thing for Americans to have it. ' ' 

Just here, dinner was announced and they all 
went into the dining-room. "I thought you might 
like to taste some Mexican dishes," said Mrs. 
Clarke, "so I have included some in the dinner 
this evening. AVe Americans modify them some- 
what by not using so much pejDper. so that they 
would seem rather mild to Mexicans ; but we find 
the American digestion does not take kindly to 
the Mexican diet, as a rule." 

After the soup, which the visitors all thought 
delicious, came the first Mexican course. It 
proved to be composed of baked eggs served with 
a delicious tomato sauce and accompanied by 
tortillas. These looked to the children like magni- 
fied ''Saratoga chips," as they were thin and 
brown, and crisp, and curly at the edges, but the 
taste was that of corn instead of potato. They 
took them up in their fingers as they were quite 



110 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

dry and ate them with the egg as they would have 
eaten bread. After the roast course, which was 
purely American, came another Mexican dish to 
which all did full justice — frijoles (free-hol'-es), 
or brown beans, the staple dish of the Mexicans. 
These were served with a delicious white Mexican 
cheese grated over them. The tomato salad 
would have been American but for one ingredient, 
the aguacate (ah-gwa-cah'-tay), a Mexican fruit 
which many Mexicans use instead of butter and 
which makes a sort of ' ' natural mayonnaise ' ' for a 
salad. When ripe, it is almost black outside and 
about the size of an ordinary pear. When opened, 
the hard nut in the middle can be squeezed out by 
a slight pressure of the fingers, and then the light 
green pulp is taken out and spread upon the 
tomato or cucumber, or whatever composes the 
salad, making a unique and very delightful dish. 
The dinner closed with the only appropriate ending 
to a dinner, in the opinion of American children, 
ice cream, and then the elders had their little cups 
of Mexican coffee at small tables in the gallery. 
After a few moments spent by the ladies in look- 
ing at some of Mrs. Clarke's "finds" in the curio 



MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 111 

shops, it was time to adjourn to the pelota game. 
It was given at the Fronton Nacional', which 
means National Pelota-Conrt, a large stone build- 
ing with tiers of seats along one side for the spec- 
tators. The party took their seats in a middle 
tier, and the children gazed curiously about them. 
Stretching the whole length of the building, in 
front of the seats, was the court, and a high stone 
wall on three sides of it was painted black. Pres- 
ently, the four players, two in blue and two in 
white, appeared, amid the applause of the specta- 
tors, and the game began. The first part of the 
game is called the partido (par-tee'-do) and con- 
sists of 25-35 points, according to agreement, 
and one side wins, not so much by the points it 
gains as by what the other side loses. Each man, 
the children noticed, had a curved basket fastened 
to his right wrist. The game began, a blue player 
taking the ball that was in his basket and throwing 
it against the front wall. When it bounced back, 
a white player caught it on the fly in his basket 
(it would have been allowable to catch it on the 
first rebound, also, Harry said), and he in turn 
threw it against the front wall, when a blue player 



112 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

was expected to catch it in his basket, in the same 
way. He did not, however, and so a point was 
counted for the whites. Throwing a ball out of 
bounds was also an error to be counted for the 
enemy, Harry said. This was a short partido of 
only twenty-five points, so this part of the 
game was soon ended in favour of the whites or 
blancos. 

Then began the quiniela (kee-nee-ay'-la), or 
second part of the game. In this there are no 
sides, but each man plays for himself. There are 
six players, and two play at a time. As soon as 
one loses a point he retires and comes in again 
only when his regular turn comes around. The 
first player to win six points has won the quiniela. 
Usually two partidos and two quinielas are played 
at a performance. Although Roy did not think it 
nearly so exciting as baseball, he admired greatly 
the skill with which the baskets (sestos) were 
manoeuvred to catch the ball, and the agility of the 
men, who, Mr. Clarke said, were nearly all from 
the Basque provinces of Spain, where the game 
originated. Toward the end, one of the players 
wa§ struck very hard on the head by a foul ball, 



MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 113 

and had to retire from the game and have his head 
bandaged — which showed that the game has its 
dangers in spite of its mild appearance. 

As Mr. Clarke put his guests into their carriage 
to go back to the hotel, he said that he had been 
able to get seats on the reviewing stand for the 
next day, and that they would have an opportunity 
to see President Diaz close at hand. Ray, with 
her usual impulsiveness, threw her arms about the 
kind gentleman's neck before her mother could 
stop her, exclaiming, "You are so good to us, dear 
Mr. Clarke. We want to see the President more 
than anybody or anything ! ' ' Mr. Clarke did not 
seem at all offended, but kissed her forehead 
gently and turned away with moist eyes. They 
learned afterward that the Clarkes had lost a little 
girl of about Ray's age only two years before. 
Perhaps it was the first time he had had a little 
girl's arms around his neck since then. Ray was 
not sure, when she heard this, whether she ought 
to have done it or not, but as Mr. Clarke was 
always especially kind to her afterward, she con- 
cluded that she had not done wrong, although, as 
her mother warned her, she had taken a risk in 



114 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

giving way to her feelings so openly. "Some 
people would not have liked it at all," said Mrs. 
Stevens, "and then you would have felt very 
silly." 

"Yes, but I wouldn't feel like doing it to that 
kind of people," argued Ray; and as the little 
burst of affection had proved acceptable, her 
mother thought best to say nothing more, though 
she often wondered into what difficulties Ray's 
impulsiveness might lead her in future. 

' ' Father, ' ' asked Roy, as they drove homeward, 
' ' are we going to a bull-fight 1 ' ' 

"7'm not," exclaimed Ray, "I wouldn't go for 
anything. ' ' 

"Nor I," said Mrs. Stevens. 

"Well, Roy, it looks as if you and I would have 
to decide the matter for ourselves only, as the 
others do not care to go. I am glad they don't, for 
my part. Why do you wish to go f " 

Roy said slowly, "I don't know that I do wish to 
go — I asked just to find out if you planned to take 
us." 

* ' No, ' ' said his father, ' ' and I hoped you would 
not think of it- But now^ we will do as you think 



MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 115 

best. You have read about the fights, haven't 
you?" 

"Yes, lots of times." 

' ' You know about how it is done I " 

"Yes." 

"Then do you wish to see it? You know that 
every one who goes encourages the sport just that 
much. ' ' 

Eoy felt pretty sure that it would not do for 
him to go back to the States and tell his boy- 
friends he had been in Mexico and had not seen a 
bull-fight, but he had not the moral courage to 
confess that this was his chief reason for wishing 
to go; so he said, "Well, it's like the circus. Hear- 
ing about it is not the same thing as seeing it ; but 
if you don't wish me to go, father, all right." 

"I wish to leave it entirely to you," said Mr. 
Stevens, "but I want you to know first exactly 
how it looks to me. The sport is a cruel one and 
has a bad effect on the spectators, making them in- 
different to suffering, and willing to encourage 
suffering that is entirely unnecessary, just for 
their own amusement. Every one who goes, 
whether he approve or not, lends the influence of 



116 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

his presence to continue the popularity of the 
sport. The better class of Spaniards are begin- 
ning to be a little ashamed of it, and the young 
King of Spain is trying to do away with it or at 
least to lessen its cruelty. It is not in harmony 
with the spirit of the times, which condemns 
cruelty. These are my reasons for not wishing to 
go." 

''Have you ever been, father?" asked Ray. 

"No, I have never seen a bull-fight, and, in a 
way, I suppose I have as much curiosity as Roy. 
There is to be a fight on Sunday afternoon, the 
only day on which they are given in summer, and 
I will take Roy if he says so. ' ' 

Well, it ended in Roy's deciding that he ought 
to see it, so as to tell the boys at home about it. 
However, there was not much to tell, for, although 
he went and enjoyed the sight of the audience and 
the entering procession, as gaudy as that of the 
circus, he was very much disturbed by the fact 
that, early in the fight, the rougher element of the 
public, displeased with one of the picadores, threw 
seats and boards at the men and had to be quieted 
by the soldiers who were present for the purpose. 



MEXICAN SPECIALTIES 117 

Then the picadores, who are no longer as skilful 
as in the past, were not able to keep their horses 
out of the reach of the bull; and when Eoy, who 
was very fond of animals and especially of horses, 
saw one poor creature lying in the arena breath- 
ing its last and another with its entrails hanging 
out, he set his teeth and said to his father, ''I've 
had enough, ' ' and they came away. As they made 
their exit, they met other Americans who had 
gone, like Roy, from curiosity, and who also had 
had enough. -"I can't stand for that sort of 
thing," they heard one man say. "It's all very 
well for the men — they know what they are doing, 
and if they want to take the risk, all right; but 
those poor, inoffensive horses — excuse me." 



CHAPTER IX 
THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 

The next morning Roy and Ray were prepared 
to be waked very early by the firing of cannon and 
popping of firecrackers, and were much surprised 
to find everything quiet, the shops open, and 
people going about their business as usual. ' ' They 
don't even have the flag up," said Roy, quite dis- 
gusted. 

Mr. Stevens laughed. "Why should they?" he 
said, "this isn't a Mexican holiday. We don't 
decorate and celebrate on the sixteenth of Sep- 
tember, why should they on the Fourth of July? 
However, if you are disappointed in not seeing the 
flag on the main business streets, you will doubt- 
less see it flying over the consulate, the American 
school and American houses, and also plenty of it 
in the Tivoli garden where the celebration is to be 
held." 

They were walking down toward the garden 

118 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 119 

as lie spoke, for they were to meet the Clarkes 
there at ten. The square was full of carriages and 
automobiles, and there were officials at the gate to 
take tickets, and many sellers of flags and badges 
and buttons to decorate the newcomers who were 
willing to be decorated. The children bought 
these eagerly, and were soon carrying small flags 
and wearing badges in which the American and 
Mexican colours were combined. Roy had rather 
preferred a ''straight" American badge, but Ray 
had said stoutly, "I think we ought to wear both; 
we're in Mexico and they're treating the Ameri- 
cans very nicely, and we're going to see the Presi- 
dent, and I think it's only polite," and at last he 
was convinced. They had both noticed that Harry 
Clarke had a little paper bag under his arm and 
a mischievous look in his eye, but they had not 
connected the two. 

"What's all this? How did it get there?" asked 
Ray, pointing to the ground, which was strewed 
with little disks of paper in all colours. 

"This is what it is," replied Harry, showing his 
paper bag, "and this is how it got there!" and 
he showered them both with handfuls of the little 



120 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

disks, confetti, used in all Latin countries in public 
merrymaking and gradually coming into use in 
our own. The children laughed heartily as they 
shook it out of their hair, their clothes, and even 
out of their eyebrows and eyelashes. "Now, I'll 
show you where to get some," said Harry, but 
before he could take them to the booth, some 
venders came along and sold the three children 
their whole stock. 

"But we don't know anybody to throw it at," 
said Eay. 

"Oh, you don't have to know people — only I 
never throw at grown people unless it's some one 
I know. I'll show you some of my friends you 
can pelt with it. Father ! ' ' called Harry. 

"Yes, Harry?" 

"I'm going to take Eoy and Ray around to see 
the fun. Where will you and mother stay 1 ' ' 

"We shall be near here somewhere, not far 
from the entrance. But don't let your friends 
miss the President's entry." 

"No, I'll keep watch," said Harry. "Now, 
come on. Whenever I say ' Quick, ' you look to see 
where I 'm looking, and then let fly. ' ' 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 121 

''Well, I think it's lots more fun tlian fire- 
crackers," said Ray, "they don't hurt anybody, 
and they aren't dirty, and you don't have that 
dreadful smell of gunpowder. ' ' 

"No, and you don't find a long list of killed and 
wounded in the paper, the next day, ' ' said Harry. 
"A fellow does miss the noise, of course." 

"Well, there's noise enough, only it's another 
kind," said Ray, as a procession of small boys 
came by blowing horns and drowning the band, 
which was playing The Star Spangled Banner 
under difficulties. 

"They ought not to come around where the 
band is," said Harry, "it's no fun to spoil good 
music like that. Say, let's throw confetti down 
their horns when they turn this way again. ' ' The 
children waited their opportunity, which soon 
came, and threw handfuls of confetti into the 
mouths of the horns, putting a sudden stop to the 
blare and making the blowers puff and blow in 
vain, 

"What do you want to spoil our fun for?" ex- 
claimed the leader, angrily. 

"What did you spoil theirs for?" retorted 



122 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Harry, pointing to the band, the members of 
which were looking at one another in despair. 
"Go anywhere away from the band and we'll let 
you alone." 

"Oh," said the boy, looking at the band, "I 
never noticed 'em. All right, don't make any 
difference to ns where we go, ' ' and he led his fol- 
lowers in another direction, tooting away as if the 
life of the United States depended upon noise. 

"I thought they just hadn't noticed," said 
Harry, "they're good enough little fellows when 
they once think of a thing. Quick!" Roy and 
Ray turned. A very jolly-looking man with two 
ladies was just passing. "Pepper him!" whis- 
pered Harry, and they did. "It's our consul," 
explained Harry, ' ' he won 't mind, ' ' and just then 
the consul turned quickly, and though Harry was 
by that time looking innocently in another direc- 
tion, he knew at once the origin of his very 
thorough decoration and came over to shake 
Harry good-naturedly by the shoulders. "Teach- 
ing visitors these saucy Mexican tricks, too," he 
said, as he brushed confetti from his moustache 
and fished them out of his shirt bosom and blew 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 123 

them out from under his cuffs. "Do you know 
how I'm going to punish you for showing no more 
respect for your country's representative T ' 

"No," said Harry, laughing, as he combed con- 
fetti out of his hair, the consul having suddenly 
produced a handful from some mysterious source 
and poured it over him. 

"I'm going to have you sentenced to come here 
in the morning and help sweep out the place," 
said the consul, looking back with mock severity, 
as he and his party moved on. 

"That wouldn't be any joke," explained Harry, 
"if he meant it, for the ground here is covered 
about a foot deep with confetti by the time the 
fun is over. Listen ! ' ' They all paused suddenly 
and stood listening. "There comes the band! 
The President's coming — let's go back to the folks 
and get good places to see the presidential party 
come in." 

They hurried back and were in plenty of time 
to see the little group of officials enter. Eay 
grasped Roy 's hand and held it tight. ' ' There he 
is ! " she exclaimed, ' ' in the middle, that nice, dark- 
haired man with the grey moustache. ' ' And sure 



124 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

enough, there he was, at last. Tall and straight 
and soldierly, in spite of his seventy-six years, his 
dark eyes looking about him in a kindly, modest 
way, as if unconscious that he was under scrutiny, 
he walked between the two files of soldiers stand- 
ing on either side the path, while the best band in 
Mexico played the National Hymn.* " It is never 
played in the Federal District, ' ' said Harry, ' ' ex- 
cept when the president appears." 

''What's the Federal District?" asked Roy. 

' ' Come, children, ' ' called Mr. Clarke, just then, 
' ' we must hurry and take our seats, ' ' and as they 
all followed him and the other grown-up members 
of the party, Harry had only time to say, "I'll 
tell you about it later." In a few moments, they 
had taken their seats in the reviewing stand and 
were quietly listening to their own old Declaration 
of Independence. 

"Doesn't it sound good?" whispered Roy, and 
his father, hearing him, smiled and patted his 
shoulder. At home, it isn't the fashion to read 
the Declaration in most places, and a great many 

* The words and music of the National Hymn are given at 
the end of the book. 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 125 

people seem to forget what the Fourth of July is 
all about. But in a foreign country, it is generally 
read every Fourth of July if there is any celebra- 
tion at all. 

After the Declaration, there were two speeches, 
one of them by the American ambassador. Then 
there was a general handshaking and the moment 
the children longed for had come. They stood 
quietly, but very much stirred up within, while 
their father and mother were presented to the 
President and his party and to the ambassador, 
and at last began to fear they were to be forgotten ; 
but the President himself kindly prevented that. 
Catching sight of their bright, expectant eyes be- 
hind the group, he turned to them and held out his 
hand, saying in English, ''And are these little 
ones from the States, too?" 

The children forgot the proper form of address, 
if indeed they knew it, for in all their antici- 
pations of the meeting they had never asked them- 
selves what their own part should be, but had only 
wondered what the President would do and say. 
And now all they could think of was "General 
President." So they said, "Yes, General Presi- 



126 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

dent, ' ' in concert, and put their small paws in liis 
large, firm hand with the greatest confidence, ad- 
miration shining out of their eyes so plainly that 
he could not help seeing it. 

''And what do you think of Mexico?" he asked 
quizzically. 

'*We like it," said Eoy, modestly, while Ray 
added impulsively, ' ' and we feel now as if we had 
seen George Washington." 

The President and those around him smiled, and 
he was evidently not displeased and gave them a 
final pressure of the hand, shaking his head and 
saying, "Ah, no, that is too much!" to Ray's 
simple compliment. 

Then Harry whispered to the children that the 
races were about to begin and suggested that they 
go down into the garden again and get close to 
the running track. There were all kinds of races, 
and they lasted all day long — races of boys, of 
men, of little children, of young girls, and of 
married women — not very dignified races, some of 
them, and Ray said she didn't suppose Americans 
would be willing to make themselves ridiculous 
like that for everybody to see. 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 127 

"Oh, yes, you would see plenty of this kind of 
thing, if you were in some places in the States, 
to-day," said Mr. Stevens, "and there we should 
think nothing of it and should just say that people 
were having a good time. ' ' 

"When do you suppose we are going to have 
something to eat ? ' ' whispered Roy to his mother. 

"We must wait until the President goes to his 
luncheon," answered Mrs. Stevens. "He will go 
soon, and I believe your father and Mr. Clarke are 
invited to luncheon with him. ' ' 

And in a few moments, the presidential party 
moved toward a small, wooden building on the 
grounds into which, for some time past, the 
children had seen waiters carrying cold meats and 
salads and bottles of wine. "Now we can go and 
find something to eat, ' ' said Mrs. Clarke. ' ' Harry, 
you lead the way to any one of the restaurants 
here and we'll just take a little luncheon to serve 
until we can get back home." They soon found a 
table in an open pavilion, and ate what Harry 
called "a red-white-and-blue Hail Columbia 
lunch." They had cold turkey ("But that's both 
an American and a Mexican bird, you know, ' ' said 



128 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Harry), and Saratoga chips, and sliced cucumbers, 
of which the visitors were very properly rather 
shy, and finally two kinds of pie. "But I haven't 
had enough, have you, Roy?" asked Harry. Roy 
confessed that he could hold a little more. ' ' Say, 
let's have some tamales! Have you had any yet? 
No? Then let's have some if this fellow's got 
any." The tamales were produced, and Roy and 
Ray watched Harry open his, with great curiosity. 
It was something wrapped in corn-husks and had 
been cooked in that way. As the successive blades 
of the husk were turned back, between each two 
was a layer of corn-paste much like the substance 
of the tortillas, but steamed and moist instead of 
baked and dry. In the heart of the tamale were 
some rice, some chicken giblets, and a little cooked 
fruit. Harry ate his with gusto, but Roy, after 
one or two tastes, decided that it would be some 
time before he should learn to like tamales; and 
he filled up the hollow space reserved for them 
with some candy Ray had bought. 

"After awhile," said Mrs. Clarke, "we can go 
over to the ice cream booth and have some ice 
cream, ' ' 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 129 

''Yes, indeed," said Harry, ''it wouldn't be the 
Fourth of July without ice cream." And that 
was the way in which they ended the afternoon, 
going home rather early, so as to come back for 
the fireworks in the evening. 

When evening came, however, Mrs. Stevens and 
Eay were too tired to go out again, and so Eoy 
and his father went without them. They found 
the rockets very beautiful, but the fireworks in 
general lacking in the variety that they were used 
to at home ; and they were surprised, both of them, 
to find how well the Fourth could be celebrated 
without gunpowder. 

"Father, what did Harry mean by the Federal 
District?" asked Roy, who had not forgotten that 
there was one point on which his desire for in- 
formation was not satisfied. 

"The Federal District here means about the 
same as the District of Columbia at home," said 
Mr. Stevens. "It is a district belonging to the 
general government, and not to any of the 'states. 
Here it comprises about four hundred and fifty 
square miles, and the City of Mexico is its capital. 
The general government makes its laws." 



130 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

"I don't believe I know anything about the 
government of Mexico, ' ' said Roy. ' ' I know there 
are twenty-eight states, and that's about all." 

''Yes, and one territory, that of Tepic, not 
much larger than the Federal District. Every 
state has two senators, but instead of serving 
six years as ours do, they are elected for two years 
at a time on alternate years, one senator each year. 
Then there is one representative for every forty 
thousand of population or fraction of more than 
twenty thousand in each state, and these repre- 
sentatives form the Chamber of Deputies. All but 
four of the states have railways now, those four 
being Chiapas, Sinaloa, Tabasco, and Lower Cali- 
fornia, and they are on the coast and have good 
harbours." 

''Lower California?" asked Roy in surprise. 
"Does that belong to Mexico? I thought it be- 
longed to the United States." 

"You are thinking of Southern California," 
said his father, "Lower California has never be- 
longed to us, and it is a pity that the name can't 
be changed, for it is misleading. It is perhaps as 
unknown a piece of country as any in North 



THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN MEXICO 131 

America. Some prospectors once landed there, 
along in the sixties I believe, and were never seen 
again, and it is supposed they were murdered. If 
a railroad should ever be put through the state, 
things would change and improve there rapidly, in 
all probability; but now it is the last place to 
which a traveller would care to go. 

"Here we are at the hotel. I've had a very 
satisfactory Fourth of July. How about you ? ' ' 

"Fine!" said Koy, "but I'm mighty sleepy 
now. ' ' 



CHAPTER X 
THE CONQUEST 

"Befoke we go to the Museum," said Mr. 
Stevens, one morning, "I think we ought to have 
some account of the Conquest of Mexico. I am 
very rusty on some parts of it, and I think you, 
Helen, are the only one of the party who has been 
re-reading the story. Can't you tell us about it 
this afternoon, when we come in from our sight- 
seeing?" 

"I have just been thinking of that, and wonder- 
ing whether I could tell the story briefly and at the 
same time make it interesting to the children," 
replied Mrs. Stevens. "I'll try if you are not all 
too tired. Can't we go somewhere out of doors, 
and sit where we can look at something that will 
help to make the story seem true ! ' ' 

''Why not to the tree of La Noche Triste?" sug- 
gested Mr. Stevens. 

''The very thing, and if we go out about half- 

132 



THE CONQUEST 133 

past three, we shall be done with our story before 
the driving begins and shall be able to come back 
and see the carriages. ' ' 

The children were delighted with this arrange- 
ment, and at the hour appointed they all boarded 
a car at the Plaza. It did not take them long to 
reach Popotla and the famous tree which is an 
ahuehuetl (ah-way-way'-tl), a kind of cypress. 
Some years ago some Indians kindled a fire be- 
neath it and injured it seriously, and since then it 
has been protected by an iron railing. The chil- 
dren looked with interest at the great tree, four 
hundred years old, at least, and they wanted to 
know why it was called the tree of the Sad Night. 
''All in good time," said Mr. Stevens, as they 
seated themselves on a long bench. "Let mother 
tell her story and we shall come to the tree in due 
course." 

''Long, long before the Spaniards found this 
country," began Mrs. Stevens, "it was occupied 
by Indians who were partly civilised — at least, 
they had a kind of civilisation of their own and 
were not in the least like the Indians of North 
America. The only records we have of them are 



134 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

some picture-writings on cloth made of the 
maguey-plant, of which we have seen so 
much in the Valley of Mexico. According to 
these, we can trace their history back to the 
seventh century, twelve hundred years and more 
ago. ' ' 

"My!" exclaimed Ray, ''it makes me tired to 
think of so many hundred years ! ' ' 

"I am not going to tell you everything that hap- 
pened in them, so don't be frightened," said Mrs. 
Stevens, smiling. "The first tribe we hear of is 
the Toltecs, and they lived here until about the 
twelfth century, when they were driven out by the 
Chichimecs ; there were other tribes also, and then 
toward the end of the twelfth century, the Aztecs 
appear in history, the tribe found in the City of 
Mexico by the Spaniards, after the Aztecs had 
occupied the valley some three hundred years. 
The Aztecs called their country Anahuac (An-ah'- 
hwac), and their capital, which stood where the 
City of Mexico stands now, was named Tenochtit'- 
lan," (pronounced as it is spelled). "Their prin- 
cipal building in the Capital stood just where the 
great Cathedral stands now. The Aztecs were then 



THE CONQUEST 135 

under the rule of Moctezuma (or Montezuma) II, 
whose family had been reigning since about 1460, 
and they had brought into subjection a great 
many tribes in the surrounding country. They 
forced them to pay tribute of a great number of 
young men and women every year, and when these 
poor young people left their homes they knew they 
would never see them again ; for the young women 
were forced to become slaves to the Aztecs and 
the young men were killed and their hearts served 
up as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods. It is even 
said that the rest of the body was eaten, the Aztecs 
being cannibals." 

"What horrible people!" exclaimed Ray, while 
Eoy screwed up his face in disgust. 

' ' But in a way the Aztecs were civilised, ' ' went 
on Mrs. Stevens, "for they lived in real houses 
and had fine public buildings, they made cloth and 
worked in gold and silver, they had ways of 
reckoning time, and they had the picture-writing 
to record their history. However, as they were so 
cruel to the tribes around them it is no wonder 
that these tribes turned against them and helped 
the Spaniards to conquer them when the chance 



136 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

came. When Columbus discovered America in 
1492, lie did not, as you know, visit the mainland, 
only the West Indies; but so much interest was 
aroused by his reports that from that time on, 
other Spaniards were continually fitting out ex- 
ploring expeditions. The first to touch this 
country was that of Cor'doba in 1517. He landed 
in Yucatan, which is a part of Mexico now. 
Another expedition came out the next year, under 
Grijalva (Gree-hal'-va), who landed on an island 
opposite Vera Cruz." 

Mr. Stevens had a map and pointed out the 
places to the children as their mother named them, 
so that they might see just how far each explorer 
had gone. 

' ' Then in 1519 came Cortez, with Alvara'do, who 
had come the year before, as one of his men. In 
one of the suburbs of the City of Mexico is a 
beautiful house, once owned by Captain Alvarado, 
and now occupied by an American lady who is a 
student of Mexican antiquities. Cortez had eleven 
ships, one hundred and ten sailors, sixteen cavalry- 
men with their horses, over five hundred foot- 
soldiers, some Indians from Cuba, and ten small 



THE CONQUEST 137 

cannon. He had two Indian prisoners to interpret 
for him, for of course none of the Spaniards could 
speak the Aztec language. 

''One thing which very much helped the Span- 
iards was a tradition which the Indian tribes had 
of a white man named Quetzalcoatl (Ket-zal- 
co-at'l), who was said to have once lived among 
them and ruled mildly over them, teaching them 
many things. Now they worshipped him under 
the name of God of the Air. The legend ran that 
after ruling them for twenty years he had sailed 
away from them on a boat made of snakes, but had 
told them before he went "that at some future day 
he or other white men would return and rule over 
them as gently as he had done. ' ' 

"Wasn't that strange? Who do you suppose 
he was 1 ' ' asked Roy. 

"No one knows, but near Puebla there is a 
great brick pyramid called the Pyramid of Cho- 
lula, said to have been built b^^ the only two people 
left living after a great deluge in which all the 
rest of the world were drowned. On this pyramid, 
the people had built a temple to Quetzalcoatl, 
with an image of him within it, and pilgrims came 



138 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

from all over the country to worship there. The 
whole town was full of temples — Cortez says that 
he counted four hundred towers in Cholula. If we 
go to Puebla we shall try to see it, as we can go 
there by tram." 

' * Oh, jolly ! ' ' exclaimed the children. 

''We shall also see images in the Museum here 
supposed to represent the God of the Air. Well, 
as I said, when Cortez and his men and horses 
appeared, they created a great sensation, as the 
rumour ran that Quetzalcoatl 's prophecy had been 
fulfilled. The people had never seen horses before 
and thought they too were gods, and the Spaniards 
regarded it as a great misfortune when one of the 
horses was killed and so was proved to be mortal. 
They buried it at night secretly so that the natives 
might not get any of the body and find out that it 
was mere animal flesh. 

''A very clever Indian woman, named Marina, 
who had been made a prisoner, became attached to 
Cortez and helped him greatly by her knowledge of 
the native tongues and of the nature of the people. 
By her aid and that of the tribes who wished to 
see the Aztecs conquered, Cortez arrived at 



THE CONQUEST 139 

Tenochtitlan, or the City of Mexico, without very 
serious losses. Moctezuma, who had heard of his 
coming, and who had had spies at various places 
to meet him and come back and report, had de- 
cided that the best plan was to appear friendly. 
He had no doubt that with his tens of thousands 
of men he could conquer the small force of the 
Spaniards. The Spanish at once began to behave 
as conquerors, but did not have uninterrupted 
success, and it was after a defeat that Cortez, 
whose men had been driven out of the city over 
the Tacubaya road, spent the night, it is said, 
under this tree here. It may have been a Sad 
Night, but we may be pretty sure that Cortez him- 
self did not spend it in lamenting. A week later, 
he won a victory, and then, with powder made 
from sulphur taken from the crater of Popocate- 
petl, he began the siege of the city. There were 
with him forty cavalrymen, eighty bowmen, four 
hundred and fifty foot-soldiers, and nine cannon. 
The Aztecs had some hundred and twenty-five 
thousand men, whose weapons were principally 
bows and arrows. 

''Moctezuma had been killed the day before the 



140 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Sad Night, and not by a Spaniard but by his own 
nephew, Gnatemot'zin, or Cuauhtemoc (you saw 
his monument on the Paseo, the other day — a beau- 
tiful one), who thought he was not sufficiently 
vigorous against the Spaniards. Cuauhtemoc then 
took command and held the city until his garrison 
was starved into submission. The Spaniards 
again entered the city, but all the treasure they 
had seen before was gone. Cuauhtemoc was put to 
the torture to make him tell what had become of it, 
but in vain. And none of it has ever been found. 
We shall see a painting in the San Carlo Academy 
in the city, showing a part of the torture of 
Cuauhtemoc. An old chief being tortured with 
him — the soles of their feet were being roasted 
over hot coals " 

*'0h, mother !" begged Ray, clasping her hands. 

*'Yes, it is almost too dreadful to tell, dear — 
this old chief looks at Cuauhtemoc entreatingly, as 
if saying, 'I can't bear it any longer. Let us tell 
them, ' and Cuauhtemoc replies, ' Do you think, per- 
haps, that I am taking my pleasure in my bath?' 
and refuses to let him speak." 

''He was brave, anyhow," said Roy. 



THE CONQUEST 141 

''When the Spaniards conquered the city they 
soon conquered more, and for three hundred years 
the country was ruled by Spain. Cortez went back 
finally to Spain, and died there in 1547 — he has no 
known descendants in Mexico. Many of his fol- 
lowers and other Spaniards who came afterwards 
married with the Indians, and it is this mixture 
which makes the Mexicans. The old religion has 
disappeared, for the Spaniards threw down all the 
Indian idols, destroyed their temples, and put up 
churches in their stead, but the Aztec language 
still survives. Once a year, in August, the Indians 
assemble around the monument to Cuauhtemoc 
and deliver speeches in that language. And there 
are villages otf the railroad where some of the old 
Aztec dances are still danced. ' ' 

Mrs. Stevens paused for breath, rather tired of 
her duties as historian ; but the children were still 
curious. 

''How did their buildings look?" asked Eoy. 

"Their first houses were built of reeds and 
rushes from the lakes, for this Valley of Mexico 
which is now without any very large body of water 
was once full of shallow lakes, which have been 



142 ROY AND RAY IX MEXICO 

drained off, all but six. under the Spaniards. But 
the Aztecs soon learned to build very massive 
houses of stone. They looked like nothing else 
that has ever been found on this side of the globe, 
and were more like the structures of Egypt than 
like anything else. The great temple that stood 
where the Cathedral stands now, was a pyramid 
over one hundred feet high, and a hundred and 
fourteen steps led up to it. At the top there was 
room enough for thirty horsemen. What are 
streets now were canals then, at least many of 
them were, and some of them have the same names 
as then." 

"What became of Cuauhtemoc?" asked Eoy. 

"He was put to death. The great temple was 
destroyed, and the founding of the new city began 
by building — what do you suppose ? ' ' 

' ' A church ? " "A palace ? " "A monastery ! ' * 
guessed the children. 

' ' No, — a navy-yard ! ' ' 

''A navy-yard! Up here in the mountains!" 
exclaimed Eoy. 

"Yes, a na^^-yard, to build boats to use on the 
lakes," said Mrs. Stevens. "It seems very queer, 



THE CONQUEST 143 

as one looks in every direction without seeing 
water, to think that such a thing was ever needed 

here." 

''You can still see small lakes, though, by going 
up to a height as we did at Guadalupe," said Mr. 
Stevens. ''There are six in the Valley, and one 
of them. Lake Texcoco, is right in the centre and 
of quite respectable size. And there is a little 
town called Texcoco, not so very far from the city, 
which has a bridge called the Bridge of the Ber- 
gantines, from which the boats of that name built 
by Cortez sailed away with his men to the siege of 
the CapitaL" 

"Dear me!" said Ptay, who had been calling up 
her knowledge of the early history of her own 
country, "and all this was happening nearly a 
hundred years before Virginia and Massachusetts 
were settled. ' ' 

"Yes," said her father, "and while Ponce de 
Leon was in Florida and De Soto finding the 
Mississippi, and Coronado civilising Xew Mexico. 
The Spaniards were very busy in those days." 

"And they have lost it all, even Cuba," said 
Roy, thoughtfully. ' ' I wonder why. ' ' 



144 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Ah, that is the question," said his father. 

By this time, the sun's rays were growing level, 
and they thought it time to get back to the park at 
the base of the Castle of Chapultepec, to watch the 
driving. It was Thursday, one of the two especial 
days for this great promenade (the other being 
Sunday), and very soon after they took their 
seats the procession began, growing larger as the 
hour grew later. The driving lasts from tive to 
seven generally, unless rain comes to put a stop to 
it. On this particular day, however, the weather 
was obliging, and the party had the pleasure of 
seeing all the best families of the city, with many 
American residents and some tourists, driving in 
all sorts of equipages, from the latest pattern in 
automobiles to the poorest yellow-flagged hack. 
The children thought the Mexican ladies very 
pretty, and were very grateful to a gentleman who 
pointed out to them the carriage of Senora Diaz, 
wife of the President. They pronounced her 
charming, especially when they saw her smiling at 
some friends and making the graceful Mexican 
salutation with the hand. "It is so much prettier 
and politer than our way of waving the hand," 



THE CONQUEST 145 

said Ray, ' ' Ours says ^ Go away, ' and theirs says 
'Come back.' " 

''You '11 be a thorough little Mexican, before 
you get away," said her father. "You admire 
everything so much." 

"No, not quite everything," said Ray, "I don't 
admire the rags and the dirt. And I do like the 
United States best. ' ' 

"Of course you do," said Roy, stoutly. 

"But," persisted Ray, "I don't know how it is 
— I can't explain it — I like to like other countries. 
If they've got anything nice I want to own it and 
not pretend that we are the best in everything. ' ' 

"You just want to be fair," said Roy. 

"Yes, and a little more — I want to be polite," 
returned Ray. 

"That's the spirit that makes travelling easy 
all around, ' ' said her father. ' ' Keep it up, Ray. ' ' 



CHAPTER XI 
THE MUSEUM 

When the party first entered the patio of the 
National Museum, they exclaimed with delight at 
the beauty of the garden disclosed to view. ^'You 
never would guess from the streets," said Mrs. 
Stevens, ''what beautiful things are hidden inside 
these doorways. It always pays to look into any 
public entrance." 

The Hall of Archaeology, which is on the ground 
floor of the Museum, proved to be so interesting 
that the party had to leave the upper floors for 
another day. It was full of images and stone rel- 
ics of all sorts, of the Indian races who were the 
earliest known inhabitants of Mexico. The only 
other visitors in the room were peons with their 
families, all barefooted and wrapped in their 
serapes and rebozos, the women carrying nearly 
always a little brown baby slung in the folds of 
the rebozo as if in a hammock, sometimes in front, 

146 



THE MUSEUM 147 

sometimes on the back. They paused in their slow 
rounds to read the labels, which were in Spanish, — 
at least, they seemed to be reading them, — and 
Roy and Ray wondered if they still had any feel- 
ing for the ancient gods of their race, and if per- 
haps they came here as they would have come to 
a temple. But who knows what is passing through 
the mind of a peon ? The children finally gave up 
guessing, and turned their attention to the relics. 
The first, of course, to attract every one is the 
great Calendar Stone of the Aztecs which stands 
opposite the doorway. ' ' This is said to have been 
embedded in the front wall of the great teocalli or 
temple of the Aztecs and to have been buried for 
many years, after the destruction of the temple," 
said Mr. Stevens. ' ' Then it was found and placed 
in one of the Cathedral towers and finally brought 
here. ' ' 

''What does it mean?" asked Ray, "and why 
do they call it the Calendar Stone ? ' ' 

' ' I think they used it to represent time in some 
way," said Roy, "because here in the middle is 
something like the sun with something like rays 
going out from it. ' ' 



148 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Yes," said his father, "it is sometimes called 
the Stone of the Sun. This other great stone is 
the sacrificial stone, ' ' pointing to another near by. 
"It was found near the Cathedral in 1791, and they 
were about to break it up and use it for paving- 
stones when fortunately some people who knew its 
value prevented its destruction. The story goes 
that two stones like these were quarried out at 
Coyoacan, a suburb, and that as they were being 
brought on rollers to the temple their weight 
broke down one of the bridges and they sank into 
the lake, and these two stones were then made to 
replace them and moved in over the same bridge, 
which had been strengthened in the meantime. It 
took five thousand men to do the moving, it is said, 
and when the carving on them was finished, over 
seven hundred human beings were sacrificed at 
their dedication. In this stone," showing the 
sacrificial stone, "you can see dimly the figures of 
men dragging the victims to be sacrificed. And 
here is a hollow in the middle for the blood and a 
little channel running out to the edge to carry it 
off." 

"That makes it seem awfully true," said Roy, 



THE MUSEUM 149 

as lie looked curiously at the top of this wonderful 
old stone, emblem of the cruel Aztec religion as 
the Calendar Stone was of the advanced Aztec 
civilisation. After these two relics, the thing that 
most interested the children was the statue called 
''El Indio Triste," the Sad Indian. 
''What makes him sad?" asked Ray. 
''He's sad because he's cold," said Roy, "don't 
you see his blanket and the ear-lappets on his cap! 
and he's all bunched up together, as if he were 
trying to keep warm." The children could not 
help laughing at this idea, though Ray said she 
didn't believe it was ever cold in Mexico. 

"Yes, it is sometimes," maintained Roy. 
"Harry Clarke told me that last winter lots of 
poor people froze, and that the government gave 
out blankets and had fires built in the streets. But 
I really didn't mean it when I said the Sad Indian 
was cold. Does any one know anything about it, 
father?" 

"The story goes that he betrayed his country- 
men and never recovered from the shame of it and 
always felt remorse; but judging from the hole 
between the folded hands and the one through the 



150 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

feet, he must at one time have carried a banner, 
and probably represents a standard-bearer or a 
torch-bearer. The street where it was found in 
1828 is called the Street of the Sad Indian. One 
of the temples had Indians with candlesticks of 
stone on its walls, and this may be one of them." 

The image of Chac-mol, the God of Fire, inter- 
ested the children also, as it lay on its back, hold- 
ing in both hands a disk representing the sun. 
''He looks terribly uncomfortable," said Ray, 
''with nothing to lean against. I think his elbows 
must be pretty sore, by this time. ' ' 

"Constant leaning doesn't seem to wear away 
a stone like constant dropping," said Mrs. 
Stevens, "but he certainly does look uncomfort- 
able." 

The children were anxious to see images of 
the God of the Air, Quetzalcoatl, and were greatly 
disturbed to find them so hideous. "I don't see 
why they wanted such an ugly god as that to come 
back and rule over them, ' ' said Ray. 

"Ideas of beauty differ in different times and 
countries and perhaps they thought these were 
beautiful," said Mrs. Stevens. 




T HE Sad Indiax 



THE MUSEUM 151 

''More likely," said Mr. Stevens, "they wanted 
to represent the power and fearsomeness of the 
god, so that the people would be afraid to disobey 
what the priests said were his wishes, and would 
bring gifts and sacrifices to keep him in good 
humour. ' ' 

Many of the images made the children laugh, 
and they quite enjoyed the morning, not finding it 
at all tiresome as they expected; however, when 
their father proposed going into the rooms where 
more modern relics were to be seen, they were 
quite ready. Mrs. Stevens did not care to climb 
to the second floor that morning, and so the party 
moved on to the rooms in which souvenirs of 
Maximilian were kept. 

Here they found two of his carriages, one of 
them the state coach, splendid with gilding and 
carving and colour, and his silver dinner service, 
and on the walls pictures of the costumes worn by 
officers of the Imperial household during his short 
reign. "I don't feel as if I had Maximilian 
straight," said Roy, "just where did he come in 
and how did he come to be emperor?" 

"He was an Austrian arch-duke, to begin 



152 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

with," said Mr. Stevens, ''and he was induced to 
come over at the time when the French invaded 
the country. You remember I told you that Spain, 
France, and Great Britain all had claims against 
Mexico — because the government would not pay 
its debts to citizens of those countries. France 
claimed six hundred thousand dollars, a part of 
which was a claim for sixty thousand dollars by 
a French cook who said the Mexican soldiers had 
stolen pies from him to that value. ' ' 

"My! Sixty thousand dollars' worth of pies! 
I should think that would have killed the whole 
army, ' ' exclaimed Ray. 

''Of course, that was ridiculous, and the Mexi- 
cans laughed at it," said Mr. Stevens, "but the 
matter was really serious, and the three countries 
sent out a fleet bringing commissioners to treat 
with the republic concerning these claims. All the 
troops were to be withdrawn as soon as a treaty 
had been signed, and the English and Spanish kept 
their word. But Napoleon III, instead of with- 
drawing his troops, sent more, and in 1863 they 
entered the Capital, and then began that wander- 
ing about of President Juarez of which I told you 



THE MUSEUM 153 

the other day, and the war in which Diaz so dis- 
tinguished himself. Maximilian was sent over in 
1864, with his wife, Carlotta, daughter of Leopold 
I, then King of Belgium, and Mexico was declared 
an empire and they the emperor and empress. 
Their rule was quite splendid while it lasted, and 
it is said the City of Mexico owes its great boule- 
vard to plans made by Carlotta. During this 
period the United States had its Civil War on its 
hands and could not attend to outside affairs, else 
the empire might never have been inaugurated, 
for we were very averse to having anything but 
republics in the Western Hemisphere. In 1865, 
when the end of our Civil War was in sight and 
victory was with the nation, we turned our atten- 
tion to Mexico's affairs and took sides with the 
Mexicans. Napoleon, having got Maximilian into 
the scrape and finding the empire unpopular in 
the New World, deserted him and left him to get 
out of it as best he could. You know that he was 
captured at Queretaro by General Escobedo, and 
executed with two of his generals, Miramon and 
Mexia. He left instructions that Carlotta, who 
had gone to Europe to get help, was not to be told 



154 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

of his execution and, so far as I know, she never 
has been, but has supposed that he died a natural 
death." 

"Why, is she living yet?" asked Ray. 

"Yes, poor lady. She was taken back to Bel- 
gium with the understanding that the cause had 
failed and that Maximilian would follow. She be- 
came very melancholy and finally lost her mind. 
She was kept in the Chateau de Bechoute, not far 
from Brussels. It is one of the saddest things 
connected with the history of Mexico." 

"I tell you, I wouldn't like to have been Na- 
poleon, and have had all that on my conscience," 
said Roy. 

"Kings and emperors used to have a great 
many things of that kind on their consciences," 
said Mr. Stevens ; " fortunately, in these days, they 
are less powerful and more conscientious, appar- 
ently, and the newspapers speak out and tell them 
what the people think of them when they resort to 
tricks of this kind. ' ' 

"I can remember, as a little girl," said Mrs. 
Stevens, "seeing the pictures in Harper's Weekly, 
I think, showing the execution of Maximilian and 



THE MUSEUM 155 

his generals. It was the first news I ever read 
that I still remember. ' ' 

''Well, then," said Roy, "we almost made up to 
Mexico for taking Texas and California awa}^ 
from her, didn't we? For if we hadn't stood by 
her, France might have won and she might have 
been an empire instead of a republic, and 
governed by foreigners, mightn't she?" 

"It looks so," said his father. 

"Well, I feel better," said Eoy; "I do hate to 
have my country do anything mean, and if she 
can't take it back then I like to see her make up for 
it somehow." 

"So do I," said Ray. 

"Time for dinner," said Mr. Stevens, looking 
at his watch. "We'll come back here another 
morning. ' ' 



CHAPTER XII 

THE MUSEUM AGAIN, AND CHAPULTEPEC 

A FEW days later the family made their second 
visit to the Museum, and, so far as the children 
were concerned, found it even more interesting 
than the first, because the objects of interest this 
time belonged generally to more modern times, the 
history of which the children could grasp. They 
saw some of the famous picture-writings, it is 
true, but they also saw charts and pictures show- 
ing the natives of all the various states of Mexico 
in their different costumes, some of them most 
graceful and picturesque; they saw many relics 
of the Conquest, such as the banner of Cortez, his 
armour and the arms worn by some of his fol- 
lowers, a helmet and cuirass worn by Captain 
Alvarado, and a portrait of Cortez, but they also 
saw many relics connected with the War of Inde- 
pendence, which interested them much more. For 
example, there was the banner taken by Father 

156 



THE MUSEUM, AND CHAPULTEPEC 157 

Hidalgo from his little home-clmrcli and made the 
standard of the War of Independence. It bore the 
picture of the Madonna of Guadalupe with which 
the family were now very familiar, from seeing it 
in so many churches. There were Hidalgo's 
musket, his cane, his favourite chair, and even his 
handkerchief. The children looked at these relics 
with as much respect and interest as if they had 
been those of Paul Revere or Israel Putnam or 
of any of their own Eevolutionary heroes, for 
they had grown to think very admiringly of the 
patriot-priest who gave the call to arms in the 
name of freedom. 

The many objects that had once belonged to 
Juarez, the Indian president, interested them 
rather less, though they gazed curiously at his 
clothes, of a style just old-fashioned enough to 
strike them as somewhat ridiculous. The death- 
mask and the bed on which Juarez died, with its 
canopy and hangings, they looked at with solemn 
faces; and they stood long before the full-length 
portraits of Maximilian and Carlotta, in ball 
costume, and with ill-concealed disapproval turned 
away from the portrait of Napoleon III. 



158 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

But the portraits that interested them most 
were those of the six young cadets who were killed 
at Chapultepec. Very poor portraits they were, 
probably, and certainly very poor as works of art, 
but both Roy and Ray stood before them with 
tears in their eyes, thinking how young these poor 
boys were to have fallen in battle. They felt more 
than ever anxious to go out and lay their wreaths 
at the foot of the monument, and were very glad 
to find that an excursion to Chapultepec was 
planned for that very afternoon. 

Mr. Stevens had been successful, through the 
kind help of Mr. Clarke, in securing a permit to 
visit the interior of the castle, something not 
always easy to get. And about four o'clock, the 
party, accompanied by Harry Clarke, who had a 
holiday for some reason, started for Chapultepec. 
"It means the Hill of the Grasshopper, doesn't 
it?" said Ray. 

''Yes, and why don't they call it that?" said 
Roy, a little hard to please. 

"They do," said Harry, "that's what Chapul- 
tepec means — but you couldn't expect them to say 
it in English, Roy," 



THE MUSEUM, AND CHAPULTEPEC 159 

There was a general laugh at Roy's expense, in 
which he could not help joining, though the fact 
was that his grumpiness was owing to his not 
feeling very well. When the car stopped at the 
great entrance gate, the party got out and entered 
the park at the foot of the hill, strolling among the 
great ahuehuetls, and very soon coming to the 
stone monument they were seeking, with its pro- 
tecting iron railing. On one side were the names 
of the cadets who fell in the defence of the castle, 
and on the other of those who were taken pris- 
oner, with the dates. The children could not 
reach to deposit their modest wreaths of daisies, 
but Mr. Stevens put them on his cane and placed 
them just at the base of the shaft. An old Mexi- 
can gentleman, who was passing by, stopped to 
watch the proceeding, and smiled kindly when he 
saw the little givers were Americans. "They 
say," said Mr. Stevens, as they turned away, 
"that Moctezuma used to have a palace on this 
great rocky hill, though this palace was built under 
two of the Spanish viceroys and finished in 1785. 
In Moctezuma 's time, they had to climb all the 
way to the top, the chieftains and their followers 



160 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

in palanquins with slaves to carry them. And 
once, the story goes, Moctezuma stopped his 
bearers at the entrance to a cave, on the way up, 
and went by himself into the cave, shortly after- 
ward, to every one's surprise, calling to them from 
the top of the hill. As the people did not know 
there was an interior passage from the cave, they 
thought the emperor had penetrated the rocks by 
some miraculous power. Now there are good 
footpaths and carriage roads, and even an ele- 
vator part way up. ' ' 

When the party reached the top, after winding 
about among the trees and admiring the flowers 
everywhere, particularly the pink geraniums that 
climbed all the way up the rocks like a vine, they 
found themselves on a broad esplanade from 
which they could see all the pretty villages below 
and the two snow-capped mountains that were 
now becoming very familiar to them. 

''I don't know what we'll do when we go where 
we can't see old 'Popo,' " said Roy. ''I am get- 
ting so used to him that I look for him every 
morning. ' ' 

' ' Now, look off on this side, ' ' said Ray, who had 



THE MUSEUM, AND CHAPULTEPEC 161 

been tlirougli the garden and into the gallery 
which overlooked the Valley in another direction. 
Here they saw the battlefields of Churubusco and 
Molino del Rey, the city with its towers and splen- 
did domes, and the hill and chapel of Guadalupe. 
It was a lovely, clear day, and everything was 
visible that distance allowed, and the children 
thought they had never seen so beautiful a land- 
scape. They were at last learning to appreciate 
scenery and to understand their father's and 
mother's enthusiasm. 

Still they were anxious to enter the castle, and 
Mr. Stevens presented his permit to the guard, 
who honoured it at once, introducing them into 
the State apartments. Of course, as the Presi- 
dent and his family were living there during 
the summer, the private apartments were not 
shown. 

The Empress Carlotta is associated with much 
of the magnificence of the palace, which was a 
favourite place with her, but everything is marked 
R. M., "Republica Mexicana." The oldest things 
in the palace are two chairs said to have belonged 
to Cortez, All the rooms of the palace open on 



162 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

marble balconies, and on the upper floor, reached 
by a stairway with gilded balustrades, there are 
fountains and terraced gardens. Outside the 
palace are colonnades of white and tinted marbles, 
and under the arches are copies of frescoes of 
Pompeiian and Grecian designs. 

' ' I never, never, saw such a lovely place ! ' ' ex- 
claimed Ray. ' ' It must make a person very happy 
to live here." 

"Did it look just like this — the hill, I mean — in 
Moctezuma's time?" asked Roy. 

"No, indeed, because once it was an island in 
Lake Texcoco, and now it is four miles from the 
shore of the lake," said Harry. 

"Then all this ground around it was under 
water?" 

"Yes, indeed, and lots more. They have been 
draining the water out of the Valley of Mexico for 
hundreds of years. ' ' 

"I wish we could see some of the cadets," said 
Ray, remembering that one end or side of the 
castle was occupied by the Military School of 
Mexico; and as they followed the drive westward 
they came to the school and Ray had her wish. 



THE MUSEUM, AND CHAPULTEPEC 163 

Several cadets were standing about in groups, and 
one, whom Harry Clarke happened to know 
slightly, saluted the party politely. 

i i T]2ere are about three hundred of them here, ' ' 
said Harry, ' ' and on the anniversary of the battle 
of Chapultepec they have memorial exercises and 
decorate the monument. ' ' 

"Has Mexico a large army?" asked Mr. 
Stevens, who found Harry pretty well posted 
about his adopted country. 

"Only about thirty to thirty-five thousand, in- 
cluding officers," said Harry. "You have seen 
the rurales, haven't you?" 

"Yes, an occasional one." 

"There are over two thousand of them, and 
when they are mounted they look fine. You know 
they wear leather suits and felt sombreros to 
match, all trimmed with silver. And they're like 
a walking armory, with their cartridge-belts, and 
revolvers, and swords. There's a little tram-line 
across the mountains from Tehuacan (Tay-wa- 
can') to Esperanza, connecting the Mexican South- 
ern and the Mexican railroads, and each car has 
a rural for guard, in addition to the driver and 



164 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

conductor. It doesn't seem as if there were any- 
thing to be afraid of, but the sight of the armed 
guard makes you feel safe." 

''We may take that tram one of these days," 
said Mr. Stevens, "so I'm glad to hear we shall 
have a protector. If you are all ready to go down, 
now, we '11 stroll about among the trees awhile and 
then go back to town." On the way down they 
passed the cave, once the home of the Spirit of the 
Spring, Malintzin, and near the bottom of the hill 
the spring from which the city gets part of its 
water supply. It was walled in by the viceroys 
who were responsible for the building of the 
castle. Moctezuma's tree is among the large 
cypresses in the park, a double tree hundreds of 
years old, without doubt, and forty-one feet 
around. It is said that Moctezuma wept his defeat 
under this tree as Cortez did under the tree of the 
Sad Night. 

As they went back through the city streets, 
after leaving the car, they passed a building in a 
very ordinary street from which a great confusion 
of children 's voices came forth. ' ' That must be a 
school," said Harry. 



THE MUSEUM, AND CHAPULTEPEC 165 

"A school!" exclaimed Eoy and Eay together. 
''With all that noise?" 

''Yes, they study aloud here in the lower grade 
schools," said Harry. "Then the teacher knows 
they're studying, you see. Let's see if we may go 
in. ' ' He stepped into the patio and to the door of 
one of the rooms on the ground floor, and asked 
permission, which was at once granted, and he 
beckoned the others to follow. The school was on 
two floors, the rooms opening around a court, and 
the youngest children were in the ground-floor 
rooms, with women-teachers. As soon as the 
party were seen at the door, the teacher nodded 
to the little pupils and they all rose in their 
places and their little hands went to their fore- 
heads in a polite salute. They looked so "cute" 
as Ray called it, that the visitors broke into smiles 
and all bowed in return, and the little fellows sat 
down again. There were nearly forty of them. 
As it was clear that they would not go on with 
their studying while visitors were present, the 
party went on upstairs, when the babble at once 
began again behind them. 

Upstairs, the boys in the middle and rear 



166 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

rooms aroused the sympathy of the party, because 
the only light they had in their rooms came in 
through the doorway, and a little distance from 
that the room was almost dark. Yet there they 
were, poring over their books and straining their 
eyes. The teacher who was going with the party 
as guide said they had a great deal of eye-trouble 
among the children, and the visitors did not 
wonder at it. 

''There are some very good, new school-build- 
ings in the city," said Harry, "but this happens 
to be one of the poor ones." 

"Well, I'm glad I don't go to school in this 
country, ' ' said Roy ; ' ' school from half -past eight 
to four, and eleven months in the year, and then 
such dark rooms as these ! ' ' 

"You children don't realise, "said Mrs. Stevens, 
"how well-off American school-children are in 
their schoolhouses with all their fine equipment. 
If you had a year in a school like this, you would 
appreciate your blessings." 

"Yes, indeed," said Ray. "I do already!" 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE VIGA 

''What is the Viga?" asked Roy at supper one 
evening. ''Harry Clarke says we must go up the 
Viga, and everybody we meet at the hotel says, 
'Have you been up the Viga!' " 

"It is an old, old waterway — a canal, they call 
it, but it is not like our canals — that runs from 
the city out to Xochimilko (Soch-i-mil'-ko), a two- 
days trip," said Mr. Stevens. "It brings in the 
charcoal, grass, garden-truck, etc., raised by the 
people all along the way, and is used for passenger 
traffic, too. I had thought we would make a short 
trip up the canal to-morrow, as that is Sunday, 
and Sunday is said to be the best day for the 
trip. ' ' 

"Oh, good!" exclaimed Ray. "I was wonder- 
ing what we would do to-morrow. You'll go, 
won't you, mother?" 

' ' Yes, if the morning is pleasant. We shall go 

167 



168 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

in the morning, shan't wef" Mrs. Stevens asked, 
turning to her husband. 

* ' I suppose the morning will be better on account 
of possible rain in the afternoon, though I believe 
one doesn't see quite as many people there in the 
morning. I think we might start from the hotel 
at about half-past nine, if these young people 
are up and have had something to eat by that 
time." 

"I think we've been pretty good about getting 
up since we've been here," said Roy, who was 
rather sore on the subject of early rising. 

*'Yes, you have been, my boy," said his mother. 
' ' I think we 've had to wait for you only once. ' ' 

"We'll go to bed early to-night and then we'll 
be sure to be up," said Ray, and at nine o'clock 
when Mr. Stevens came in from doing an errand, 
he found them both soundly sleeping. 

So they not only arose early but "bright and 
early" the next morning, all eagerness for the new 
things they were to see. They walked up to the 
Zocalo and took the small car that was to carry 
them out to the Embarcadero (Em-bar-ca-day'-ro), 
where the canal begins. So early in the morning, 



THE VIGA 169 

this tram was not crowded. It ran through some 
rather poor parts of the city, and when they got 
out at the terminus, the children thought it was 
about the most unattractive place they had yet 
seen, for it was dirty and dusty, with very little 
shade, very noisy, and full of poor and wretched- 
looking people. Two interesting things, however, 
caught their attention at once, the giant figures 
in bronze of two Aztec chiefs, formerly stationed 
in the Paseo, but too large there for their sur- 
roundings and so brought here to this broad, open 
place. All about the base of these monuments 
clustered the descendants of the old race, laughing 
and chattering, buying and selling, cooking and 
eating, perhaps unconscious of their decline, per- 
haps indifferent to it. The moment the party left 
the car, they were surrounded by boatmen offering 
their boats for the trip, describing the merits of 
them, and all that was to be seen on the way, etc. 
When it came to making a bargain, however, Mr. 
Stevens had to lower their ideas of price some- 
what, and as they found him firm in his determina- 
tion not to be overcharged, and Mrs. Stevens was 
able to convey this fact to them in tolerable 



170 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Spanish, they began to relent. The family selected 
the first boatman who had approached them, a 
smooth-faced boy of eighteen or nineteen, whose 
boat was very gay with red and white curtains 
and with red and white flowered chintz covers on 
the seats. The boats were a kind of dugout, flat- 
bottomed with slanting ends, and Roy soon found 
that it was fun to lie flat on one of these ends and 
look into the water. The canal was very unattract- 
ive at first, being full of scraps of things that had * 
fallen into it from the boats and being without 
shade just at the beginning; but a few strokes of 
vigorous poling, done at the bow by the boatman, 
brought them into cleaner water and among the 
trees which, from there on, lined the banks and 
made a pleasant shade. The canal was wide enough 
for several boats to pass one another, but the boats 
they met this morning were nearly all carrying 
passengers, as Sunday is a fiesta when no one 
works if he can help it. Funny and queer things 
attracted the children's attention all along the 
way; once they saw a young woman washing her 
husband's hair, dipping up water from the canal 
and throwing it over him in streams. Both were 



THE VIGA 171 

stripped to the waist, so as not to get their clothes 
wet in this deluging occupation. Again they came 
to two young men digging for clams with their 
hands, in the mud of the canal. Their beautiful 
brown bodies shone in the sun, and their thick, 
black, wavy hair and great dark eyes made one 
think of the well-known picture of the "Neapoli- 
tan Boy." They were very good-natured, and 
when Mrs. Stevens asked what they were doing 
and could not understand their soft-voiced reply, 
one of them waded to the boat and brought her a 
clam so that she might have her answer in an in- 
telligible form. The boat passed under several 
bridges and one of these was so low that the boat- 
man signed to them all to sit down or lie down on 
the floor of the boat. They wondered what he 
would do with the frame on which his awning was 
stretched, and were much amused when he folded 
it back like the top of a carriage. He then 
bent over and pushed the boat along by press- 
ing with his hands against the bottom of the 
bridge. 

The party met a few families coming down the 
canal with grass or grain of some kind, and in 



172 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

one boat a young man with his wife and baby sat 
in the stern leaning against the soft, green mass 
behind them. The baby was eating a tamale and 
was evidently enjoying it, for she picked up every 
crumb that fell into her lap. When she had done, 
her father calmly took her little rebozo and wiped 
her face and hands with it without much regard 
for the garment. 

A pleasure party they met had several children 
among its members, and five of these were lying 
on their stomachs, as Roy had done, dipping their 
hands into the water and fishing for lily-pads, of 
which there were a great many. All along the 
canal they met, here and there, boats being towed 
by some one on the bank as well as poled by the 
boatmen; and occasionally, tied up to the bank, 
they saw several boats fastened in line, making a 
sort of train. These had staves across the top 
and straw or reed mats over them. They saw 
household goods in some of these and women 
cooking, and the boatman said many people lived 
in the queer-looking craft, having no homes at all 
on land. This would not have seemed so bad, if 
they had not had their domestic animals living 



THE VIGA 1V3 

with them, dogs, and goats, and chickens. ''Just 
like Noah in the Ark, ' ' said Eoy. 

"Well, I hope Noah had more room," said Ray; 
"he had to have, of course, because he had all the 
animals in the world." 

Among the boats they met were a few canoes, 
with one man standing up in each and poling ; one 
of these they almost upset owing to their boat- 
man's carelessness. There were one or two bum- 
boats, too, managed by women, who went up and 
down among the other boats selling food of 
various kinds to the holiday-makers. 

Mr. Stevens decided that Ixtacal'co was as far 
up the canal as they would go, and that, as they 
still had to stop at Santa Anita to see the floating 
gardens, they would not get out at Ixtacalco. So 
they turned about and came back to Santa Anita, 
getting a delightful breeze. They found the vil- 
lage decorated with cheap flags and coloured paper 
ornaments stretched on ropes across the street, 
because it was the fiesta of Santa Anita, and they 
stopped a moment at the door of the little church 
and stood quietly among the worshippers, most of 
whom were kneeling, and heard the music, which 



174 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

was unexpectedly good. The clmrcli was full of 
set pieces of flowers, chiefly daisies, as well as of 
bouquets from the people's gardens, and all the 
lamps were trimmed with coloured paper like the 
streets outside. 

As they left their own boat and walked through 
the village to the smaller craft in which they had 
to continue their trip, they saw a curious sight. At 
the back of one of the adobe huts, under an arbor, 
they saw one countryman pulling another 's tooth ; 
and as they came back past the same place, the 
whilom dentist was now cutting the hair of a little 
boy whose father held him fast in the chair, as he 
did not much like the operation. 

"He can turn his hand to 'most anything, can't 
he!" said Roy. 

"Well," said Ray, "don't you remember old 
Dr. Walling told us the doctors and surgeons all 
used to be barbers, too. I suppose these people 
haven't divided the businesses yet." 

A short walk brought them to another and 
smaller canal, in which two smaller boats of the 
same pattern were waiting. They stepped into 
one, and their boatman began to pole them 



v^ 



THE VIGA 175 

through one narrow canal after another, turning 
the corners and weaving his way among the lily- 
pads with great skill. 

The gardens are great square patches of 
ground which, many years ago, floated on the sur- 
face of the water ; but the planting of willows and 
other plants with spreading and tenacious roots 
has at last anchored the gardens and only the 
canals around them are left. Tall, slim poplar 
and willow trees border the gardens, and in be- 
tween, poppies and hollyhocks and morning- 
glories provide an edge of colour which is very 
pretty. Roy found that by reaching out he could 
occasionally pull up a radish, or an onion, or a bit 
of lettuce, and he made up quite a salad, taking 
its ingredients one by one instead of together. 
The boatman picked some of the long-stemmed 
water-lilies and made chains for the children to 
put around their necks, and a bouquet of the 
purple lilies growing in clusters, for Mrs. 
Stevens. 

The sky was very blue, the gardens very pretty, 
and the motion of the boat quite easy and gentle, 
and the children were delighted with the ride and 



176 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the experience. Tliey were sorry to go back, but 
were consoled by the fact that they arrived at the 
Alameda, or park, in time to see the Sunday noon 
promenade, while the band played, and they sat in 
comfortable chairs and looked on. 



CHAPTER XIV 
ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 

For several days Mrs. Stevens had noticed that 
Roy, who was generally much more active than 
Ray, had seemed languid and unusually quiet ; and 
she finally called her husband's attention to the 
boy. 

''I should not wonder," said Mr. Stevens, ''if 
the height of the city were affecting him, and 
it might be a good plan for us to go to a lower 
altitude for awhile. I will see Mr. Clarke, and ask 
if he has a place to recommend. ' ' 

And so it came about that, one morning, bright 
and early, for all morning trains seem to leave 
the City of Mexico at very early hours, the family 
found themselves aboard the train for Cuerna- 
vaca (Kwer-na-vah'-ca), a little town across the 
mountains which, not more than six or seven 
years ago, was accessible only by stage. The 
children were rather pleased than otherwise to 

177 



178 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

get aboard a train again, and decidedly glad that 
they were to see a new town. To be sure the ride 
was to last only about four hours, but it was to 
carry them across the Ajusco (A-hus'-co) Moun- 
tains and outside the Valley of Mexico, where 
everything would be different. 

The road left the city by an easy ascent, pass- 
ing the suburbs of Tacubaya and Mixcoac and 
others with which they had become familiar, the 
great pink mill which is called the Molino del Rey 
(King's Mill) and which marks the battlefield of 
that name, the heights of Chapultepec, and the 
other landmarks that had begun to seem like old 
friends; and for a time it ran between beautiful 
gardens and orchards full of fruit, apples, pears, 
and peaches. "When we come back," said Mr. 
Stevens, "the strawberry girls will board the 
train here, and find plenty of customers; for, by 
the time we have ridden nearly four hours, we 
shall be hungry and only too glad to buy. ' ' 

"I suppose they know that we have just had 
breakfast, and that is why they aren't here now," 
said Ray. "But I think I could eat some straw- 
berries, anyhow, if I had them. They don't look 



ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 1T9 

red-ripe like ours, but they are ripe, just the same, 
and they are so much sweeter than ours." 

''They have more water in them than ours," 
said Roy, standing up for his beloved country and 
all its products, as usual. 

"Well, water's good," said Eay, not to be 
argued down. 

As the train climbed higher, they began to get 
a more and more extended view of the valley, with 
the city in its midst, and in the far distance a hazy 
view of one or two of the six lakes that the valley 
contains. The land on either side the train grew 
more rocky and mountainous — it was lava-rock, 
Mr. Stevens explained, and this part of the moun- 
tains was called the Pedregal (Pay-dray-gahl'), or 
"the stony place." The party were divided be- 
tween admiration of the view and of the beautiful 
wild flowers which grew in the clefts of the rocks 
as luxuriantly as if cared for in a garden. They 
had never seen the dahlia, the cosmos, and the bego- 
nia growing wild before ; and there were dozens of 
beautiful blossoms that none of them had ever 
seen anywhere, among them a splendid scarlet lily. 

' ' I wish we could stop oif here and get some of 



180 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

these flowers," said Ray, and as if in answer to 
lier wish the train stopped, and the conductor, in 
reply to Mr. Stevens' question, said it would 
probably stand there ten minutes, as something 
was wrong with a truck. He helped Mr. Stevens 
off, who gathered flowers for them all and came 
back laden with a mass of coloured blossoms in 
which Ray buried her face with delight. 

When they came near the summit of the 
range, they began to stop at tiny stations, of 
which a dozen people seemed sometimes to com- 
prise all the inhabitants. They looked very poor 
and forlorn in some cases, and as the children 
watched the little ones scramble for pennies they 
wondered how these mountaineers had lived be- 
fore the trains began to come through, and when 
the journey by stage was undertaken by so few 
people. Some one told Mrs. Stevens that there 
was so little water up here that the stations where 
the train's water-tanks were situated were fairly 
besieged when the trains came along, in order to 
get water from the tank. There was nearly 
always a rural standing near the station, waiting 
to see if he was needed. 



ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 181 

Finally they reached La Cima, the highest 
point, where they were nearly ten thousand feet 
above sea-level, the highest elevation the children 
had ever reached. They were very much amused 
at one passenger, a lady who kept asking the con- 
ductor all along if the train had not yet come to 
the top, and who began to get out her smelling- 
salts and prepare to be ill as soon as the train 
reached the station which she thought was the 
highest. After it was passed, she put away her 
medicines and preventives gradually, and when 
the real summit was reached she was reading a 
novel in blissful ignorance. Roy did not feel very 
well, himself — his head ached and he felt as if he 
were going to have nosebleed, but he kept very 
quiet and in a short time the discomfort passed, 
as the train descended. It was a wonderful 
descent, through short tunnels, among great hills 
of lava, looking down always at the new valley 
they were soon to enter. For almost an hour 
before they reached Cuernavaca, they could see it 
down in the valley, apparently a little red-tiled 
village on a flat plain, embowered in trees. When 
they reached it, they were surprised to find it a 



182 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

good-sized town and far from flat, being situated 
all along the banks of two steep harran'cas or 
ravines. 

Its domes and towers in the midst of the tree- 
tops made it look like an Arabian town, the 
children thought, judging from pictures they had 
seen. 

When the train stopped at the station, the first 
thing that caught Ray's eye was a little Mexican 
girl with chains of beads to sell. She had very 
bright eyes and very white teeth, which she 
showed in a ready smile, and she sold her beads 
for fifty cents Mexican per string; but when Ray 
came to examine them they were not all beads — 
indeed most of them were seeds or beans, some 
grey, the ' ' Job 's tears ' ' that we see sometimes in 
the States, and others red with a long black mark 
on one side. These Ray found enchanting, but 
her mother advised her not to buy at once, as she 
would probably see many other things she might 
prefer to spend her money for. 

When the children saw the coach they were to 
ride in from the station, they were much excited. 
It was a great four-seated one, with a wooden 



ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 183 

body painted bright red, four mules to draw it, 
and a sort of rumble, or footman's seat, at the back. 
The children begged to be allowed to ride in this, 
and Mr. Stevens said they might, though their 
mother thought it a rather doubtful proceed- 
ing. "Oh, mother! no one knows us here," 
begged Ray, "and it will be so jolly, dangling our 
heels out there behind you. ' ' 

"Well, you must take care not to fall off, then," 
said Mrs. Stevens. "Hold on tight." 

It was not at all an unnecessary caution, for 
the streets of Cuernavaca, like those of most 
Mexican towns, were paved with cobbles and full 
of gutters, and the children found the drive ex- 
citing beyond their expectations. The driver 
cracked his long whip very often, and every time 
he did so the mule receiving the lash jumped aside 
and made the whole equipage, or ' ' outfit ' ' as they 
say in the West, swerve in that direction. They 
rattled and plunged through the narrow streets, 
the people fleeing before them to the sidewalks, 
and drew up in front of the hotel where they were 
to stay with a grand flourish. And behold ! there 
was the little girl with the red beans! She had 



184 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

got the driver of another coach to give her "a 
lift" back, and was there ahead of them with her 
twinkling eyes and shining white teeth, her long 
braids, and her little print gown which almost 
touched the ground, although she did not look 
much older than Bay. 

A little white dog also came to welcome them, 
and made the children feel at home at once. At 
the door, sitting on the sidewalk, was an old, old 
woman, skinny and wrinkled and brown, with a 
heap of pottery all around her, in each piece of 
which the decoration was composed of little square 
or diamond-shaped bits of china and crockery set 
into the clay while it was soft, in a sort of design. 
"How do they ever get all those pieces broken 
so even and just the same size ! ' ' exclaimed Ray. 
' ' I think it is quite wonderful — but it isn 't pretty 
when it's done," she added. 

''We must try to see some of their pottery in 
the making," said Mrs. Stevens, ''but now come 
in, my dear, and let us get washed and refreshed 
before luncheon." They entered the great door 
of the patio, where the portero had already 
placed their hand-baggage until their rooms were 




o 



ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 185 

assigned; but a noise made tliem turn back, and 
there were their trunks on a car which carried 
baggage and all sorts of merchandise from the 
railroad to the centre of the town. It ran on the 
tramway tracks and was like a freight-car with- 
out any sides. Almost every day, it drew up like 
that before the hotel, with trunks and valises for 
the passengers, goods for the storekeepers, stuff 
for the market, etc. The arrival of the coach and 
this freight car from the ' ' down train ' ' was one of 
the daily sensations, and after the children had 
grown accustomed to the town, they were as 
curious as the natives to see who and what had 
come each day. 



CHAPTER XV 

CUERNAVACA 

The patio of the hotel was a double one with 
a sort of wide covered corridor through the 
middle, paved with square red tiles and open on 
both sides so that the guests could sit in it on 
either side and look into one patio or the other. 
And the patios were well worth looking into. 
They were full of beautiful vines, climbing clear 
to the roof or hanging down from the roof, and 
of flowering plants or cactus growing in the big 
red clay jars that the Mexicans call ollas (oy'-yas). 
In one end was a round well of red clay where 
potted plants leaned over to see themselves in the 
water, and a little fountain played musically. 
This water was used for the plants, and by the 
little white dog and the birds as a drinking place. 
Many humming-birds flitted about among the 
vines. If you looked up, you saw the second-floor 
gallery, also bordered by vines, and above that 

186 



CUERNAVACA 187 

the red-tiled, curly-edged roof with potted plants 
ranged along the edge, their brilliant colours 
shining in the sunlight. 

"Oh, I wonder if we can get up on the roof!'* 
said Roy. 

*'Si, si," said the portero, smiling, for he under- 
stood more English than he could speak. 

' ' He says yes, mother, ' ' said Ray. ' ' May we go 
up there this morning?" 

' ' We '11 see. What we have to do now is to make 
ourselves presentable," said Mrs. Stevens, and 
they all followed Mr. Stevens and the portero who 
led the way to the rooms selected. 

"Mercy!" said Ray when they saw them. 
"We'll get lost in such a big place." And truly, 
the rooms were immense for people used to the 
small rooms of American houses and apart- 
ments. One was at least forty feet long and 
twenty wide, and the other adjoining it twenty 
by sixteen. 

"You and Ray can have a room together here," 
said Mr. Stevens, turning to Roy. ''I was afraid 
you would both be lonely alone in such large 
rooms. This has plenty of tall screens, so 



188 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

you can make two rooms or even four of it, if 
you wish. ' ' 

''And tliey all look out on the street and 
have balconies — how very pleasant!" said Mrs. 
Stevens, going from one long window to another 
and stepping out on the little tiled balconies, just 
wide enough for a chair or two. 

"This room has the morning sun," said the 
portero. He said it in Spanish, but Mrs. Stevens 
understood him and was very glad it was so, as 
she said it would make the rooms cooler for after- 
noon naps. The floors of the rooms, like those of 
the gallery, were of red tiles, but in the rooms 
there were great square mats woven of reeds, to 
walk on. 

' ' They have electric lights ! ' ' said Roy. 

"Yes," said his father, "they tell me there is 
hardly a hotel of any pretensions in Mexico with- 
out electric lights and electric bells, just as in 
some of the smallest and remotest towns of Euro- 
pean countries. Electricity seems to go every- 
where. ' ' 

By the time they had unpacked their trunks and 
bags and the children had got into clean clothes, 



CUERNAVACA 189 

it was time for dinner. ''You cMldren can go 
down and wait for us in the patio," said Mrs. 
Stevens, so Eoy and Eay were soon standing in 
the doorway beside the portero, and gazing out 
into the town which was to be their home for at 
least a fortnight. The portero, they noticed, 
never stood without leaning against something, 
and always sat down, when he could, on a little 
bench just inside the door. They learned after- 
ward that at night the great door was shut and 
barred, while a little door cut out of one side of 
it was locked with a key — and such a key ! — about 
eight inches long and thick in proportion. 

The portero, wrapped in Ms serape, slept on a 
straw mat on the floor or on the bench, and was at 
hand to open the door for any one coming in late 
at night or going out early in the morning before 
the hotel was open. Many guests, they found, 
liked to go out for horseback rides in the early 
morning, coming back in time for a late breakfast. 

There was a shop next door to the hotel, the 
entrance to which was at right angles with the 
hotel entrance so that the children could look in 
from where they stood. Many women were in the 



190 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

shop, and as they had to wait their turn and the 
few seats were occupied, they sat down on the 
floor, wrapped in their rebozos, and patiently 
waited for attention. Across the street was the 
market-place and to the left the Plaza or public 
square. One end of the hotel looked into the 
square, and as the rooms on that end were not 
occupied, the children were told they might go in 
there and look out from the balconies whenever 
they liked. They found out afterward that this 
permission was quite valuable, and that the Plaza 
was an interesting place to watch. 

They were quite ready for dinner when the 
doors of the dining-room were finally opened, and 
did justice to the soup and steak and vegetables, 
the egg-course and salad, and the pudding. ''It's 
all just like home, except the eggs," said Ray, 
"we don't ever have eggs for dinner." The 
children by this time had learned how to order 
their eggs — ^'en pla'to," if they wished them 
poached, "ew rancJie'ro/' if they wanted them with 
peppers, and "tortilla de huevos (way'-vos)," if 
they wished an omelet, while "huevos fritos" and 
"huevos duros" meant fried and hard-boiled eggs. 



CUERNAVACA 191 

They could say 'heftek con papas'' for beefsteak 
with potatoes, though they nearly always laughed 
when they said it, it sounded so funny. They 
found here, however, that the waiter was as 
anxious to learn English as they were to show off 
their Spanish, so, whatever they asked for in 
Spanish he promptly translated into English, to 
show them he understood that language and 
wanted to speak it and learn more. He was a nice 
young fellow, and the children liked him very 
much. All the waiters, the portero, and the mozo 
who looked after the flowers, were dressed in white, 
and the two latter were 4)arefoot. The mozo 
never walked, he trotted, and always seemed ab- 
sorbed in his work. He had a very kind face and 
never failed to smile when you spoke to him. 

After dinner, the family went up on the roof 
to "take the lay of the land" as Mr. Stevens said. 
They found one corner of the roof covered, making 
a loggia, where there were steamer-chairs, so that 
one could sit there in the morning or evening and 
get the view and the breeze. In the afternoon, it 
was rather sunny even in the loggia. 

On one side, they could look out over one side 



192 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

of the town, the lower side, and away across be- 
yond the foothills and the lava rock they could see 
Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, sometimes a cold 
grey-white against the eastern sky, sometimes 
rosy and cloud-like under the sunset glow. From 
the other end of the roof they could see down into 
the heart of the market-place, which was a hollow 
square, and the children spent altogether a num- 
ber of hours watching the movements of the 
market-people. From the other points of view 
there were other mountains, not snow-covered, but 
almost equally beautiful, and the upper part of the 
town, showing the Cathedral with its domes and 
spires against the sky. When the party had taken 
in the surroundings with many exclamations of 
wonder and admiration, they went downstairs 
again, and Roy and Ray and Mrs. Stevens gave 
themselves the pleasure of a nap while Mr. 
Stevens read his paper. When at last they all 
came down to the patio, they met the wife of the 
proprietor, Mrs. Knight, who said, ''If you want 
some amusement this evening you can find it by 
going to one of the balconies overlooking the 
Plaza." But she would not tell them what to ex- 



CUERNAVACA 193 

pect, and only smiled at their curious questions. 
You may be certain they lost no time after supper 
in stationing themselves on the balcony, particu- 
larly as they heard a band tuning up out in the 
band-stand in the centre of the square. Pres- 
ently the people of the town began to gather, the 
women in rebozos and mantillas, the men wearing 
their hats or sombreros. They sat in groups, the 
men together, and the women together, on the 
seats ranged in double rows facing each other 
around the Plaza, until the music began. Then 
they began to promenade around and around the 
Plaza, the men going in an opposite direction from 
the women, and making an outer circle, while the 
women composed the inner one. 

They promenaded as long as each number 
lasted, and then sat down during the intermission. 
Scarcely any one talked during the march, but eyes 
were busy, and Mrs. Knight explained that much 
of the courting was done during these prome- 
nades by means of admiring and coquettish 
glances. ^^They make me dizzy," said Roy, 
finally; ''I wish they'd reverse." 

''See! there are some little bits of children 



194 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

marching!" exclaimed Ray, and she was right. 
Two little girls of seven or eight, with a very- 
small boy not more than four, were keeping step 
with the grown people and looking very easy and 
as if they were accustomed to be there. 

Round and round the circles went, until the 
twins grew sleepy, but they did not want to go in 
until they had heard "La Golondrina/' the music 
that fills the same place in a Mexican heart that 
^'Home, Sweet Home" does in the American.* 
Presently, it came, sung by one of the band while 
several others accompanied him on their instru- 
ments. It proved to be very sweet and plaintive 
music, and the family always looked for it after- 
ward with pleasant anticipations. And with this 
delightful music ringing in their ears, the children 
went to bed, looking forward to many days in this 
charming place. 

*The words and music of "La Golondrina'^ are given at 
the end of the book. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE SIGHTS OF CUERNAVACA 

Roy and Ray were never tired of visiting the 
market-place. It was opposite the hotel and 
occupied a whole square. The centre was without 
a roof, and so not every one could have a stall or 
booth under cover; and those who could not, set 
up a sort of shed made of canvas or simply one of 
their useful reed mats supported on sticks. In 
the slight shade cast by these mats they assembled 
the goods they had for sale in little heaps on the 
ground, and sold them at so much a heap. This, 
of course, was the custom with fruit, seeds, nuts, 
grains, and things of that kind, and the whole 
family said they had never before seen so many 
seeds and fruits they could not name. The flower- 
sellers were under cover, and the meat-venders, 
and the women selling cooked eatables. Most of 
the pottery was piled up in the sun, and the 
baskets and reed-work in general were in canvas 

195 



196 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

tents or houses. Then the shopkeepers had booths 
for selling serapes, rebozos, dress-prints, edgings, 
and trinkets of various kinds. Along the sides of 
the market in certain accustomed places, some 
women had a rough kind of range made of clay 
and stone, on which they cooked savoury soups and 
stews and the "filling" for the enchiladas (en- 
chee-lah'-das) and the tamales, as well as frijoles 
and chile con came (chee'-lay con car'-nay), meat 
with peppers. Families having booths in the 
market and unable to do their own cooking, sent 
here for their meals and ate them sitting on the 
floor behind their counters. Other cooking-places 
had tables with coarse white cloth coverings, and 
served meals to those who came — principally 
bread and eggs and coffee — never any butter, for 
that is a scarce article in Mexico. Mrs. Knight 
told the children that on the chief market-days, 
Monday and Thursday, whole families of country 
people got their living in the market; and the 
children found out for themselves that many of 
the people who had stalls under cover slept in 
them at night, to keep watch over their goods and 
be on hand early in the morning. 




Market Scenes 



THE SIGHTS OF CUERNAVACA 197 

''What is that white stuff they are selling 
to-day I" asked Mrs. Stevens, one morning, in- 
dicating a row of women sitting on mats in the 
centre of the street, each with lumps of something- 
white in front of her. 

' ' That is lime, ' ' said Mrs. Knight. ' ' They cook 
it with their corn to take the hull off the grain. 
Then they carry a basket of corn to the mill — you 
have seen the sign, 'Molino de Nixtamal"? — and 
it is put through several machines and mixed with 
the necessary quantity of water and comes out 
dough, and they carry it away in the same basket. 
The women stand or sit and watch the process, so 
that it would not be easy for the mill-men to take 
toll even if they wanted to. ' ' 

''Do you do your marketing over there in the 
market?" asked Mrs. Stevens. 

"Yes, except for meat and flowers. Those are 
brought to the hotel — and, by the way, you must 
see Angelina, the flower-woman, some day, she is 
so pretty. Most of the citizens do their marketing 
here, for there are no provision-shops. But we 
never pay the first price for things, as tourists 
very often do, I think we have to pay a little more 



198 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

than the Mexicans, but it seems so little, anyhow, 
that one does not mind. ' ' 

' ' I think the beggars are interesting, ' ' said Ray. 
"I saw a blind young man to-day in the market, 
and he had brought a cushion to kneel on, and he 
knelt right up straight on the cushion and rolled 
up his eyes so that you couldn 't help seeing he was 
blind. He was right out in the sun without a hat ; 
if he hadn't been blind I should think that would 
have made him so." 

''And there's a little boy that leads another little 
blind boy around, and brings him right up in front 
of you so you can't help seeing him, but he doesn't 
say anything — he just looks pitiful," said Roy. 

"Unfortunately," said Mrs. Knight, ''the chil- 
dren are so attractive and so 'cunning' as Ameri- 
cans say, that tourists are very likely to scatter a 
few pennies among them just to see their pleasure. 
And all the children have learned to say 'Da mi 
un centavo/ and say it even in English, 'Give me 
wan cent. ' ' ' 

Roy and Ray laughed — they were very familiar 
with the demand and the accent always amused 
them. 



THE SIGHTS OF CUERNAVACA 199 

One of the places to which the family went one 
morning was very fascinating to the grown people, 
and not so much so to the children, though they 
were interested in its history. This was the 
Jardm (Har-deen') de la Borda, or Borda Garden, 
There were stated hours and a fee for admission, 
and the family soon learned that the safe time — 
if there was any safe time, for the garden is not 
well kept and has its dangers — was before noon. 

Mrs. Stevens quite fell in love with the mossy 
walks and walls, out of the crevices of which little 
lizards glided, and over which the mango-trees 
hung heavy with their beautiful yellow fruit with 
its red cheeks. She liked the tangled white rose 
vines over the arbor, and the clogged wells and 
fountains, so full of leaves that they could hardly 
flow, — and above all, she liked the little lake with 
its fleet of snow-white geese, and the terrace of 
stone steps bordering all one side of it. For a 
long time one day they sat and watched an old 
Indian at the top of the steps, gathering mangoes 
from the trees with something made of straw that 
looked like a mammoth egg-beater — it spooned the 
mangoes off the trees very deftly. He consented 



200 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

to let Roy try it, but though it looked easy, Roy 
had to confess that there was skill in the use of 
the tool, for he could not bring down a single 
mango. The odour of the decaying mangoes on the 
ground, with that of the dead leaves, was very 
powerful and disagreeable, but there were two 
places where they could escape it, the two pavilions 
at the lower corners of the garden. These looked 
away off across the barranca to the hills and 
mountains, a view of which the elders never tired ; 
and as the pavilions were raised above the level of 
the garden at that point, they were dry and safe. 
It was here that Mr. Stevens told the twins one 
day the history of the garden. 

"A poor boy came over here from France in the 
beginning of the eighteenth century," he said, 
''and became a miner. He ended by owning 
several mines and becoming worth some sixty 
millions of dollars. He founded this garden in 
1762 and never tired of improving it, and it is 
said that he spent more than a million dollars on 
it. He hardly knew what to do with his money — 
he had so much of it — but he spent another million 
on the church at Tasco, fifty miles from here. 



THE SIGHTS OF CUERNAVACA 201 

When he died, the garden descended to his 
heirs. 

' ' In the short reign of Maximilian and Carlotta, 
it is said the people wished to buy the garden and 
present it to them, as the empress was very fond 
of it; and one payment had been made when the 
downfall of the empire put an end to these 
plans. The family owning the garden lives in 
Europe, and the garden suffers in consequence 
and is not kept up as it should be. If it were not 
for the dangers arising from the rotting fruit and 
stagnant water, it would be probably much more 
used. But even in its present condition, it is 
beautiful. ' ' 

Usually, when Mr. and Mrs. Stevens spent an 
hour in the garden, the children spent one in the 
Cathedral-grounds instead. They were large and 
dry and open to the sun, though there was shade 
if one wanted it, and it was one of the few places 
where there was grass. And there was nearly 
always something going on in the Cathedral or 
one of the two chapels, bringing the villagers 
and country-people there, while the yard itself was 
a thoroughfare and a short-cut for people going 



202 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

from one street to another. Roy and Ray liked to 
sit on one of the tombs and see the peons take off 
their hats and salute as they passed the church 
door; they liked to see the young seminarists — 
boys studying for the priesthood — marching from 
one building to another with a priest in charge; 
they liked to watch the priests themselves, as they 
occasionally walked up and down the cloisters, 
reading their breviaries or studying some theo- 
logical book; they especially liked to see the 
sacristan come to ring the Cathedral bells. The 
rope hung outside the walls, within the reach of 
any mischievous boy, but it was never tampered 
with. The sacristan rang the hours, and on days 
when there was a fiesta or saint's day, the bells of 
all the churches kept up a continual ringing and 
made such a discord that the family were all glad 
when the services were over, 

''Those bells just tumble head-over-heels when 
they ring, ' ' said Roy ; ' ' you watch them and you '11 
see;" and it did look sometimes as if they made 
complete revolutions. 

One day in particular was celebrated during 
their stay — the feast of Maria Carmen, on July 



THE SIGHTS OF CUERNAVACA 203 

16tli. The wife of President Diaz was named 
for Maria Carmen, so that it was her name- 
day as well as the saint's. The little chapel 
in one corner of the yard was filled to overflowing, 
and the overflow, instead of going to another 
church, simply knelt on the ground outside the 
church door, and these people were quite as silent 
and reverent as those inside the church. 

One Sunday the family went to Mass at the 
Cathedral. It was a most impressive sight, seen 
from the rear of the long Cathedral, the rows 
upon rows of women kneeling on one side of the 
aisle, with their rebozos over their heads, and the 
bareheaded, devout-looking men kneeling on 
the other, while children knelt beside their 
mothers and were taught to make the sign of the 
cross. One thing, however, came near driving 
Eoy and Ray out of the church in disgrace. The 
little white dog from the hotel had followed some 
one— perhaps themselves— to the Cathedral yard, 
and then, losing his guide, had decided to go to 
Mass on his own account. He walked in very 
quietly— no tail-wagging— and took his station 
directly in the middle aisle at the rear, where he 



204 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

sat down for a time and watched intently what 
was going on at the altar. Finally he did what 
any one at the back of the congregation was free 
to do — took his leave quietly when he thought 
other affairs needed his presence. The children 
fully expected he would bark when he saw them, 
as he often did when he came to meet them else- 
where, but he looked at them without a sign of 
recognition, and his whole behaviour was so de- 
corous and like that of a person who knew what 
was due to the place and time, that Roy and Ray 
could not help smiling and looking at each other so 
meaningly that some of the congregation frowned 
at them. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE COUNTRYSIDE 

Theke were many little excursions to be made 
from Cuernavaca on foot or on burros or horse- 
back, the Stevens family generally preferring to 
go on foot, so that they could stop when they liked, 
to examine things by the roadside or enjoy the 
views. One of these trips was to San Anton, a 
village across the barranca, where much of the 
Cuernavaca pottery was made. It consisted of 
one long street of adobe houses, each with its 
enclosing adobe or stone wall and grove of trees 
and bushes, so that it was all very countrified and 
charming. On either side the road was a trench 
full of running water, and in this the villagers 
washed their dishes, their vegetables, their clothes 
and themselves, much to the surprise and disgust 
of the children. To be sure, they did not dip the 
dishes in the stream, but they got from it the 
bowlful of water in which their dishes were after- 

205 



206 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ward washed, so that it amounted to the same 
thing. The family once saw a little girl getting a 
bath, sitting out in the sun on an inverted jar, while 
her mother poured basinfuls of water over her and 
rubbed her with her hands. And they often saw 
the women washing their long, black hair at the 
stream, afterward going about with it hanging 
down the back until it dried. Some of them even 
came into the village in this fashion. 

One day as they strolled along through the vil- 
lage, they began to notice how many plants and 
trees of a useful kind grew in these tropical gar- 
dens. There were figs, oranges, coffee, bananas, 
limes, cocoa-palms, aguacates, prunes, pome- 
granates, mangoes, and the mamay', besides 
various fruit-bearing trees they did not 
know. 

''You could get a living right here in this 
street," said Ray, ''because something or other 
would be ripe right through the year. ' ' 

"You wouldn't have any meat, though," ob- 
jected Roy. 

"No, but some people don't eat meat," said 
Ray. 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 207 

-Well, I wouldn't eat those funny strings they 
have in the market that they call meat," said Boy, 

positively. 

One day they visited the village when the pot- 
tery making was going on, and saw some of the 
process. A man was mixing some earth with 
water, as a beginning, to get it of the proper con- 
sistency for kneading. Mrs. Stevens asked him 
if he got the earth in his own garden, and he said 
no, that the clay for pottery came from the 

barranca. 

The next step they saw at another place, where 
a woman had a great lump of mixed clay beside 
her, from which she was taking off enough to 
make one of the curved platters on which tortillas 
are baked. She had a great, round, flat stone m 
front of her, on which some fine sand was spread 
to keep the clay from sticking to the stone. She 
knelt before this, on the ground, and with her 
hands kneaded the mass of clay into a flat cake, 
patting it with her hands and sometimes with a 
stone, and as it grew thinner, whirling it around 
and around on the stone with her hands at the 
edge of the cake to make and keep it round. She 



208 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

did this so easily and naturally that it did not 
occur to the children until afterward that it must 
take much skill from long practice to do it so per- 
fectly. When the clay was thin enough and round 
enough to suit her, the woman transferred it to a 
larger platter which had been made originally in 
the same way, and hollowed it out with the large 
platter for a pattern. Then it was set in a bed of 
hot charcoal to bake. A bowl was shaped by 
spreading it inside or outside another bowl, 
according as she wished it smaller or larger. For 
pitchers and jars, a potter's wheel turned by hand 
was used. 

The children were very careful not to get in the 
way or stand too near, and imitated their parents 
in saying "muchas gracias (moo'-chas gra'-cee- 
as : many thanks) " for the permission to enter the 
garden and look on ; so that the woman, while not 
exactly gracious, was polite to them. Mrs. Stevens 
said afterward that she was probably out of pa- 
tience with tourists in general, as so many forget 
that a man's house is his castle and take it for 
granted they can go anywhere without an invita- 
tion or permission, which naturally nobody likes, 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 209 

not even an Indian. Usually, if they looked into a 
gateway from the road, they saw the mother at 
work at something and the children playing, and 
were greeted with a whole battery of smiles. Once 
they saw three or four tiny children sitting about 
a little low table such as some of the market women 
had in their stalls, playing with the broken dishes 
that were some day to figure as the little squares 
and diamonds in Cuernavaca pottery. 

Another excursion was to Tlaltenan'go (pro- 
nounced as spelled), where there was an interest- 
ing old church. They found the walls covered 
with votive offerings to Our Lady of Miracles, 
little silver legs and arms and hearts, given by 
people who believed she had cured their lame 
limbs and diseased organs. There were also 
hung on the walls very crude pictures, evidently 
painted by the givers or some local artist, show- 
ing the dangers from which they had been rescued 
by Our Lady of Miracles. There were men falling 
from horses or being run over by wagons, women 
drowning or falling through bridges, dying per- 
sons who had evidently been cured at the last 
moment. The twins could not help laughing at 



210 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the curious drawing of these pictures, some of 
which were truly ludicrous. 

As they came out of the church, a strong, able- 
bodied peon came by, driving a small donkey 
attached to one of the high, two-wheeled carts 
which were now so familiar to them all. They 
were watching him as he drove down the road, 
sitting with slack reins and looking about in every 
direction, when they saw that the donkey had 
suddenly quickened his pace. He went faster and 
faster, and the driver, instead of trying to stop 
him, when the cart reached the top of a small hill, 
gave a jump and landed in a heap at the side of 
the road, leaving the donkey to run away if he 
wanted to. 

''Why, he didn't even try to stop him!" ex- 
claimed Roy. 

"Perhaps he knew it was of no use," said 
Ray; ''maybe that donkey has run away 
before." 

"Well, if that's the case, he ought to have been 
watching him and prevented it. I suppose he'll 
go and paint a picture of his narrow escape now, 
and put it in that church, and give some money to 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 211 

Our Lady of Miracles. I'd rather do my own 
miracles. ' ' 

' ' I should certainly hope you could drive better 
than that man," said Mr. Stevens, much amused 
at Roy's indignation. Roy could not endure a 
coward or one who called for help before he had 
done his utmost to help himself. 

A third excursion, to the twins the most inter- 
esting of all, was a long walk out to the village 
where Angelina, the flower-seller, lived. This had 
more than one street, and had its church and its 
elementary school, like San Anton and Tlalte- 
nango, but the principal street was much like that 
of San Anton. It was late in the afternoon, and 
the sky was full of beautiful clouds, which they 
often stopped to look at from the brow of a hill, 
where great stretches of country also lay spread 
out before them. They passed one hut newly 
whitewashed which did not seem to be occupied, 
and peeping into the garden found the workmen 
all gone and no one anywhere about, no furnish- 
ings in the house, and the garden evidently need- 
ing care, as the flowers and vines were running 
' wild. They picked some flowers, honeysuckles 



212 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and roses, which grew in great profusion, and 
found out soon afterward that the occupants of 
the hut had had typhus fever, and that, after one 
death, the others had moved out, and the hut was 
being fumigated and renovated by the village 
authorities. 

"Shall we throw our flowers away!" asked 
Ray, holding hers away from her at arm's length. 

''No, I hardly think that necessary," said her 
mother, smiling ; " I dare say we come nearer than 
this, every day, to some contagion or other with- 
out knowing it. We must take some risks, and 
it's better not to imagine them greater than they 
are." 

A few doors farther on they came to Angelina 's 
hut. It was in such a thicket of flowering bushes 
that they could not see into the garden at all. 
She caught sight of them and came to invite 
them in, looking prettier than ever when she 
smiled her welcome. She showed them her hut, 
an adobe one with a roof that looked as if it leaked, 
an earthen floor, and no furniture except the 
straw sleeping-mats. Yes, there was one piece of 
furniture — a shallow box, suspended from the 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 213 

roof by cords attached to the corners, and about a 
half-foot from the ground. This was the baby's 
cradle, and he was just beginning to wake and cry 
as they looked in; but a little brother, about five 
years old, ran to him and began turning the 
strings in such a way as to swing the box around, 
and the baby went off to sleep again. 

A few steps from the hut they found the kitchen, 
just a few poles set up in the ground, supporting 
a thatched roof. The ground was hollowed out 
beneath, and a great stone bowl set in the hollow. 
This was filled with charcoal, and in the charcoal 
was set a pottery jar in which the supper was 
cooking. It smelled very good, and so evidently 
thought the kitten and the young dog which lay 
along the edge of the bowl, sniffing in all that they 
would probably get of the supper — the fragrance. 
An older dog and cat, lying farther off, seemed 
to have long ago learned that supper was not 
for them and that it was of no use to be 
expectant. 

Just here, Angelina's husband appeared, carry- 
ing the remaining child, a little girl who looked 
very pale and languid. He asked if they would 



214 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

not like to see the roses, and they answered yes, 
indeed, for they had often wondered where the 
masses of roses came from that Angelina brought 
to the hotel. So they followed him down a little 
path among the bushes and presently came to a 
half-acre garden of nothing but rose bushes, many 
of them in bloom. It was a beautiful sight, and 
Angelina went hither and thither, snipping off 
some of the prettiest for her guests and offering 
them with a bright smile that made them doubly 
acceptable. Her husband, too, seemed very hos- 
pitable. Mrs. Stevens said they must certainly 
buy roses every time Angelina came to the hotel, 
to help along the little household. ''Do you 
suppose," she said to her husband, as they came 
away, "that they own this land?" 

"No, indeed," he replied; "it is very seldom 
that a countryman owns land. He probably works 
it on shares and has to turn in a part of all he 
receives to his landlord." 

"And she sells her roses at six cents a dozen!" 
exclaimed Mrs. Stevens. "I don't see how they 
can afford to pay rent at such prices." 

"Some of the peons have a pretty hard time," 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 215 

said Mr. Stevens. ''Their lot is like that of a 
slave 's in some respects, fairly comfortable under 
a good landlord, very miserable under a bad one. 
I have heard of one rich proprietor, for instance, 
who pays his sheep-herders twenty-five cents a 
day. If a sheep dies or is lost or stolen from the 
large herd given in charge to one man, that man 
has to forfeit two dollars. Wages are paid in 
orders on certain stores, and these stores charge 
the highest prices. Very soon the peon, who does 
not know the value of money, as so little passes 
through his hands, is in debt (he himself often 
does not know how to keep his accounts) and con- 
stantly going in deeper. He has no way of paying, 
and when he dies his contract is generally such 
that his family have to assume the debt, thus 
keeping the whole family in bondage. ' ' 

*'Dear me!" said Ray; "can't they ever get 
out?" 

"The most hopeful thing for the peon is the 
fact that the government now gives his children 
an education; and when these children grow up 
understanding figures and business transactions 
and able to read the papers, it is probable that 



216 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

tliey will find some way out of this unjust system, 
though it may be a slow process." 

"They say the peons are lazy," said Roy. 

' ' Many of them are. They will work until they 
have a little money coming to them and then stop 
work until that is spent and they need more. It 
is the failing of people who live in the tropics 
where nature provides means of living so abund- 
antly. ' ' 

"I can't help thinking of that poor dog and 
kitten," said Ray. "Do joii suppose they 
ever get anything to eat! They looked so 
anxious." 

' ' I saw a dog die of starvation in the street, the 
other day," said Roy. 

' ' Oh, Roy ! How did you know 1 ' ' 

"I was looking down from the roof, and I saw 
him lying in the street. He was so thin that I 
thought at first it was a long, black rag lying on 
the ground. Then he began to jerk " 

' ' Oh, Roy ! ' ' and Ray hid her eyes as if she too 
saw the pathetic sight. 

"And pretty soon he lay quite still, and two 
guards came along and stooped down to see if he 



THE COUNTRYSIDE 217 

was dead. And about an hour after I looked out 
the window, and they had taken him away." 

"Where do you suppose they took him, father?" 
asked Eay. 

"Probably out to the hills beyond the barranca, 
away from the town, where the buzzards could get 
at him. They are the street commissioners and 
scavengers in Mexico, and they do their work 
thoroughly and swiftly." 

"I wonder if they really are disgusting birds in 
appearance or if we just think they look so be- 
cause we know how they get their living," said 
Mrs. Stevens. 

That night, the rain poured down in sheets and 
awoke the children, and both of them exclaimed at 
once, "Poor Angelina !" thinking of the leaky roof 
ajid the earthen floor. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 
A LITTLE HISTORY 

*'Is there any history to this town?" asked Roy 
one morning, as they all sat on the roof enjoying 
the breeze and the beautiful views on every side. 

i i There must be, ' ' said Ray. ' ' Don 't you know, 
part of this hotel was the house of one of Cortez' 
generals, and they call that house over there" — 
pointing to the Municipal building — '.'Cortez* 
palace." 

"Yes, indeed, the place is as old as Mexico City, 
probably," said Mr. Stevens. "Before we go on 
our expedition to-day, I will go around to the 
library and see what I can find in the way of 
history. ' ' 

"Let us go with you, father, — we want to see 
the library — perhaps they have a children's 
room, ' ' said Ray. 

"Very well, but don't let your expectations 

218 



A LITTLE HISTORY 219 

rise too high, for you may be disappointed. I 
imagine you'll find the library quite a different 
place from our little town library where, you go to 
get your story books and feel so much at home, I 
don't suppose there is a children's library in all 
Mexico. ' ' 

''Not in all Mexico?" repeated Eay. "Why, 
what do the children do? How do they get along 
without them?" 

"It is only a few years since we have had them 
ourselves," said Mr. Stevens, "and we managed 
to live pretty comfortably without them, though I 
must confess I think them a fine thing when 
properly managed." He was putting on his hat 
as he spoke, and the children got theirs as they 
went downstairs. 

The library was on the second floor, over the 
lobby of the theatre, and it was open from half- 
past eight in the morning to noon. There were 
long tables joined down the centre of the room, 
and before each chair there was a book-rest, for 
most of the books were rather large and heavy. 
There was only one reader there when they went 
in, and he was a boy of fourteen or fifteen reading 



220 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

a Spanish translation of Jules Verne's "Twenty 
Thousand Leagues under the Seas." Mr. Stevens 
saw the title as they passed him. The librarian 
was sitting at her table sewing, and the room was 
very still. Mr. Stevens wrote their names in the 
visitors' register, and then they began to look 
along the shelves for their books. The only thing 
Roy and Ray could find in English that they could 
read with understanding was "Evangeline," and 
although they had read it once, they decided it 
would be better to read it again than to read 
nothing. So they pointed it out to the librarian 
and she brought it to the table where they had 
chosen their seats. Mr. Stevens, meanwhile, had 
found Bancroft's "History of Mexico," and the 
librarian climbed up a short ladder and got the 
book for him. It proved to be just what he 
wanted, and they all read quietly — the room was 
very, very still — for nearly an hour. A friend 
of the librarian's came and brought her crochet- 
ing, and the women chatted in an undertone over 
their work. 

When they had finally left this very silent 
library and were tiptoeing downstairs, still under 



A LITTLE HISTORY 221 

the spell of quiet, Eoy said, ''Did you find out 
much about Cuernavaca, father 1" 

"Yes, it seems to have been rather an important 
place at the time of the Conquest," said Mr. 
Stevens. "It was an Indian town, independent 
until the Aztecs conquered it and made it pay 
tribute. When Mexico was besieged, the Indians 
of this town sent help to the Aztecs, so that Cortez 
had to deal with Cuernavaca also. He came over 
here with some of his men, while he was having 
his ships built for the attack on Mexico, but found 
the barranca, or ravine, here, a serious obstacle to 
taking the town. It was so narrow that the in- 
habitants could fire upon the Spaniards from 
sheltered places, without being seen. Cortez sent 
his scouts up and down the barranca to find a 
place where his men might cross, but they could 
find nothing until one of his Indian allies dis- 
covered a natural bridge formed by the branches 
of two large trees which leaned across the bar- 
ranca from opposite sides. He crossed on this 
and was followed by others, Indians and Span- 
iards. Three of the latter, owing to their armor, 
which embarrassed them very much, fell into the 



222 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

barranca, but the others crossed safely and ap- 
peared suddenly among the astonished inhabit- 
ants, who had never thought of their crossing in 
this way. It was not long before the rest of the 
army followed by a bridge which the first comers 
had repaired, and the inhabitants then fled to the 
mountains. They returned after several days, 
during which Cortez had burned the villages 
around the town and plundered the town itself, 
and as they were ready to surrender, Cortez 
ordered the fighting to cease, and the town came 
thus under the rule of the Spaniards. When the 
City of Mexico was conquered, Cortez returned to 
Cuernavaca for a time and built the palace they 
call Cortez ' palace, now the capital of the State of 
Morelos." 

"Did he build the Cathedral then, too?" asked 
Ray. 

' ' That was built in 1529, eight years afterward, 
and was a Franciscan convent at first — that is 
why there are several buildings in the group in- 
stead of simply a church. That clock in the tower 
was given to Cortez by Charles V of Spain, and 
used to be in the Cathedral of Segovia in Spain. ' ' 



A LITTLE HISTORY 223 

"The}'^ say Cortez killed his wife in the palace 
here. Is that true, father?" asked Roy. 

"It is hardly likely. He did kill his Cuban wife, 
Catalina, at Coyoacan, just outside of Mexico, and 
perhaps that gave rise to this story. But there is 
later history connected with the town, for Maxi- 
milian made it his summer home and had a pretty 
place of retirement some miles out in the country. 
He was very fond of this little place, and we may 
go out to see it some day. Then General Morelos 
was for some time a prisoner in the palace, during 
the War of Independence, which is perhaps why 
the state was named for him. ' ' 

''We saw two portraits of him in one of the 
rooms, ' ' said Roy. ' ' Mother said something about 
the Inquisition, but I didn't quite understand." 

''She probably told you that he was the last 
\T.ctim of the Inquisition. Since 1529, this Spanish 
method of making converts and punishing people 
who would not become converts, had obtained in 
Mexico, and in all the Spanish colonies. The 
victims were always executed, generally burned 
alive, in some public place, and scarcely any one 
arrested escaped sentence. Once, however, a Mex- 



224 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ican officer was summoned before the Inquisition 
and brought all his regiment with him. He told his 
soldiers, when they reached the building, that if he 
did not reappear in twenty minutes, they were to 
come and find him. He came back, as you would 
expect, before the twenty minutes were up." 

"It's a pity they had not all had regiments," 
said Eay. ''Did the Inquisition burn many 
people 1 ' ' 

"A great many. The first great burning — or 
auto da fe — took place in 1574, when twenty-one 
Lutherans were burned. Sometimes the persecu- 
tors were kind enough to strangle their victims 
before they burned them." 

"I should think the people would have rushed 
in and stopped such awful things," said Roy. 

''On the contrary, it had the same fascination 
for them that a bull-fight has nowadays. They 
used to crowd the church steps and climb up on 
the arches of the aqueduct to get a good view. 
There is something hardening in seeing people or 
animals suffer, so that the more one sees of such 
things the less pity one feels. The mildest person 
can make himself cruel in time if he tries." 



A LITTLE HISTORY 225 

' ' When did it all stop ? ' ' asked Roy. 

' ' It lapsed for two years, 1812-14, during which 
Spain had a liberal constitution, but was resumed 
in 1815. Morelos, who was executed in that year, 
was the last heretic who came before the Inquisi- 
tion. Spain again became liberal, and in 1820 the 
Inquisition was finally suppressed." 

"1820!" exclaimed Ray; "why, grandfather 
was living then — that isn't so very long ago." 

"No, it was only a year before Mexican inde- 
pendence was declared. ' ' 

"I think I'll go and look at Morelos' portrait 
again," said Roy; "I didn't know he had such an 
interesting history. ' ' 

"I remember it," said Ray; "he's very homely, 
and in' one portrait he 's got a bandage around his 
head." 

"I don't care if he was homely," said Roy; 
"he was brave and he died for his country and for 
freedom of religion. Probably the bandage is on 
account of a wound he got in battle." 

When they got home, Mrs. Stevens asked, 
"Well, did you find your children 's-roomf" 

"Oh, mother, it's just as different from our 



226 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

library as you can imagine!" exclaimed Eay. 
"Nearly all old books and hardly any English 
ones, and only one person reading there, and the 
librarian sewing, and it was so still — so still I was 
almost afraid to cough. ' ' 

"So there is another point in which American 
children have the advantage," said Mrs. Stevens. 
' ' What would you do if you had only that kind of 
a library at home, and no Miss Agnes to find in- 
teresting books for you and help you to look up 
the questions in your school work?" 

"I don't think they would have been allowed in 
this library at all if they had not been with a 
grown person," said Mr, Stevens. "However, it 
is not so very many years since most of our 
libraries would not give books to children, but 
when they did begin to do it, they did it all at 
once and very generously. Perhaps, some day, 
Mexico will awaken to the importance of free cir- 
culating libraries, especially for the children." 



CHAPTER XIX 

MORE EXCURSIONS 

The children had been clamoring for a burro- 
ride, and so one day Mr. Stevens engaged four 
burros and a boy to drive them, and they went to 
see an old hacienda where sugar-cane was the 
crop. The burros were brought to the door of the 
hotel, each with his gay saddle with a little railing 
as a support to the back, and a short bit of rope 
as a bridle. People always looked so comfortable 
riding on these little beasts, which went so easily 
and slowly, that the family were rather eager to 
try it than otherwise, though Mrs. Stevens had 
her misgivings. Soon they were in their saddles, 
and with the donkey-boy walking behind to prod 
the burros with his stick when they needed it, they 
ambled down a steep, stony street and out into a 
■ country road, with trees and bushes and huts 
bordering it at first, and later leading up and 
down hill, across small creeks, and through almost 

227 



228 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

nninliabited country. The motion was very easy 
and the children were delighted, and they thought 
their father looked very funny with his long legs 
almost touching the ground on either side of his 
burro. They all expected him to take the lead in 
the march, the path being often very narrow, and 
the burros then obliged to go in Indian file; but 
they found the burros settled that matter among 
themselves. It proved to be Roy's burro that took 
the lead and nearly always kept it, for when they 
came to a narrow place the other animals lingered 
until Roy and his donkey had gone ahead. They 
had one accident that might have been serious but 
fortunately was not. Mrs. Stevens' saddle was 
not very tight or set far enough back, and as they 
were all going down a steep hill, her burro sud- 
denly decided that he wanted a decaying mango 
lying in the road. He bent his head to get it and 
this, with the natural decline of the road and the 
looseness of the saddle, sent Mrs. Stevens over his 
head before she realised what was happening. 
She was not hurt, as she fell on her hands and in a 
clayey spot, but she was shaken up and unnerved, 
and refused to mount again for some time, and 



MORE EXCURSIONS 229 

Mr. Stevens dismounted and walked with her for 
a mile, until she had enough courage to remount. 
The burro, meanwhile, ate all the mangoes he 
wanted and enjoyed his freedom. They passed 
through two villages before they came to the 
hacienda, all around whose gates there were 
thatched huts built of sugar-cane stalks such as 
the children had never seen before. 

"They don't seem so civilised as the adobe 
huts," said Ray, "but the people look just the 
same. ' ' 

It was Saturday and seemed to be a general 
holiday. No one was doing any work, and they 
heard the tinkling of a guitar and the sound of 
singing in one of the huts. The farmhouse was 
a long, three-storied building, and walls extended 
out from both ends of it enclosing two courtyards. 
One of these proved to be a sort of stable-yard in 
part, with stalls under the projecting roof on two 
sides, while in the building at the back was some 
heavy machinery. The other courtyard looked as 
if it had been built in the middle ages as part of a 
fortress. The farmhouse walls that overlooked 
it were very, very thick^ with portholes for 



230 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

guns and cannon, and great buttresses made 
an extra sujoport for the walls. 

''They must have thought the enemy would 
penetrate into this courtyard by the walls or by 
capturing the gate, so they were ready to defend 
the building from the back," said Mr. Stevens. 

''What kind of plantation is this?" asked Eoy. 
"And what was that machinery we saw?" 

' ' They raise sugar-cane here and make aguardi- 
ente (ah-gwar-dy-en'-teh)," answered Mr. Stevens. 

"Oh, yes!" said Ray; "that's what mother 
burns in her alcohol lamp. ' ' 

"Yes, it is used here as alcohol and wood alcohol 
are with us," said Mr. Stevens, "and it is nicer 
for such use because it has not the disagreeable 
odour the others have. The machinery we saw 
probably has something to do with making it. 
You know this hacienda was once owned by Cortez 
himself, and when he died he left it to the Hospital 
of Jesus in the City of Mexico, and the income 
from the plantation still goes to support the 
hospital." 

"I remember that hospital," said Roy. "One 
day father and I were going along the street and 



MORE EXCURSIONS 231 

we saw an old building, and the patio looked so 
interesting that I peeped in. But there was 
nothing and nobody to be seen but a little girl, 
and she wanted to know what I wanted." 

"Why, Roy, how did you know what she said?" 
asked Ray, incredulously. 

"She said, 'Que quiere listed, senoritof " said 
Roy, rather vexed. "I've been here long enough 
to know what that means, I hope, hearing it every 
day in the markets and shops." 

"What did you answer!" asked Mrs. Stevens. 
"I pointed to the flowers and vines and said, 
'Bonitos, muy honitos/ and she smiled, and then I 
came away." 

"Very good," said his mother. "You are get- 
ting on, and I'm glad to see you are trying to 
speak a little. You won't feel half so helpless if 
you stretch your wings and try a little flight every 
day. Isn't there a portrait of Cortez in that 
hospital?" she asked, turning to Mr. Stevens. 

"There was. It was painted in Cortez' lifetime 
purposely for the hospital, and is said to be the 
best one there is." 

This excursion and the one to Maximilian's 



232 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

country retreat finished the family's stay in 
Cuernavaca. This latter was not so far but that 
they could walk to it, which was a great relief to 
Mrs. Stevens, though the children would have 
liked to go on burros. They passed through one 
or two villages, and turning off the main road 
found themselves confronting a rather rickety, 
ornamental fence or wall of wood, opening into a 
courtyard with the house on two sides of it and a 
covered passage leading into a garden at the back. 
There was a well in the courtyard over which 
hung a mango-tree, and to keep the mangoes 
from falling into the water, which looked stagnant 
enough already, the present owner had covered it 
with a sort of lattice-work. 

Young chickens and goslings were everywhere, 
for the place had been turned into a chicken-ranch 
by the tenant, who was an American. 

''Isn't that too bad!" exclaimed Ray; ''to turn 
an emperor's summer-house into a place to raise 
chickens ! ' ' 

"I daresay it is more usefully employed than 
it was in Maximilian's time," said her father. 
"You mustn't be too romantic, Ray." 



MORE EXCURSIONS 233 

"Well, I can't help being sorry for all tliat 
Maximilian family," confessed Ray. ''They had 
such a little time to be happy in. Where is Maxi- 
milian buried, father 1 ' ' 

"In Austria, though his body was not taken 
there until some time after his death. That he 
expected to be taken back to Austria was evident, 
for he asked to be shot in the body so that his 
mother might look upon his face again. They had 
told him that Carlotta was dead, and he had re- 
plied that that was one tie less to bind him to 
earth. ' ' 

"Didn't any one try to save him?" 

"Yes, his wife besought both Louis Napoleon 
and the Pope to interfere, but in vain. Even the 
United States tried to save him from execution. 
A noted princess rode one hundred and sixty 
miles to beg President Juarez to set aside the 
sentence, but the Mexicans thought they must 
make an example of him, and so ended the last 
attempt at a foreign empire in Mexico." 

' ' How would President Diaz have acted, do you 
suppose?" asked Roy. 

"I cannot tell; but when the Austrians wished 



234 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

to erect a chapel on the hill where the execution 
took place, he allowed it to be done, and soon 
afterward Mexico and Austria formally became 
friends again. ' ' 

The children were quite still and thoughtful for 
awhile, as they walked homeward. Suddenly, Raj'" 
asked, "Did you see that man that just passed 
us?" 

'^Yes," said Roy; "why?" 

"Did you notice that little green spot he had 
right here on his forehead?" said Ray, pointing 
to her temple. 

"Yes, I've seen several of them wearing those 
green plasters. What are they for, father?" 

"I don't know," said Mr. Stevens; "I hadn't 
noticed them. ' ' 

"We'll ask Mrs. Knight," said Ray, and when 
Mrs. Knight met them in the patio as they came 
in, it was the first thing Ray spoke of. 

"I was going to call your attention to that," 
replied Mrs. Knight. "It is a way the peons have 
of curing themselves of headache, ague, etc. It 
is just a piece of eucalyptus leaf from the eucalyp- 
tus trees you see growing about in the villages. 



MORE EXCURSIONS 235 

You know we manufacture eucalyptol from it and 
take it as a medicine, while they go straight to the 
tree and pick their own medicine. ' ' 

''How convenient!" said Ray, ''and so much 
pleasanter to stick the medicine on you like a 
plaster than to take it inside of you ! ' ' 

"But not so pretty," said her father, teasingly. 

"Why, I don't think it's ugly to have a little 
piece of fresh, green leaf on your face — it's much 
prettier than black court plaster, and people wear 
that to make them look pretty. ' ' 

' ' There is a nux vomica tree in the town, ' ' said 
Mrs. Knight; "the only one I know of for miles. 
You ought to go to see that." And they did, one 
day, finding it a large tree with wide-spreading 
branches, and glossy, dark green leaves, some- 
thing like a large poplar leaf. 

Mrs. Stevens, who was a homoeopath, looked at 
the tree almost with veneration. 

"You could not only get your living from these 
trees about here, but you could get your dying," 
said Mr. Stevens, "for the nux vomica seed is 
poison." 

"Your dying and your keep-f rom-dying, " said 



236 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Roy, ''because if you take it right it's good for 
you and not poison." 

''And you can get the other kind of dyeing, 
too, in Mexico," said Mrs. Stevens, "for the Mexi- 
cans make their own dyes to colour their cloth 
with — at least, they did at one time. Now many 
of their scrapes and rebozos come from the United 
States, and they tell me the sombreros are made 
in New Jersey." 

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Ray, "that just takes 
all the poetry out of them, ' ' which made Roy quite 
indignant. He said she ought to be glad to see 
American trade growing like that. 

That evening was their last in Cuernavaca, and 
when the little orchestra came and played "La 
Golondrina" in the patio, they all said it made 
them feel homesick already for Cuernavaca, where 
they had begun to feel so much at home. 

"You must come down sometime in the winter, 
and perhaps spend a Christmas here," said Mrs. 
Knight. 

' ' How do you keep the patio warm in winter ? ' ' 
asked Ray. 

^ ' Oh, my child, the patio is just as warm then as 



MORE EXCURSIONS 237 

it is now. We try to make it look like Christmas 
by our decorations — you know the poinsettia is 
called the 'Christmas flower' here, and we always 
have it for the keynote of our decorations. ' ' 

"We are just beginning to use it in the States 
as a Christmas plant," said Mrs. Stevens. "It 
has such a cheerful red, and red seems to be the 
Christmas colour, for some reason. The patio 
must look very bright and gay, but I can't quite 
imagine a warm, summery Christmas." 

' ' No snow, and no skating, and no icicles on the 
trees and roofs, and no bright fires!" exclaimed 
Ray. "No, I'd rather come down here in summer 
and have our Christmas at home, where it's like 
Christmas." 

"You forget that the first Christmas was in a 
country where they seldom have snow except on 
the tops of the mountains, and where the mercury 
never falls below twenty-eight degrees," said Mr. 
Stevens. 

"Then our Christmas is not the real Christ- 
mas?" said Ray, much astonished, 

"It is not like the original Christmas, if that is 
what you mean." 



238 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

"Well, well!" was all Ray could say. She 
had supposed that the way things were in the 
United States was, generally speaking, the proper 
way. 

"Travel and learn!" said Roy, teasingly, but 
he too was a little surprised. 



CHAPTER XX 
SOUTHWARD 

Iisr order to get anywhere else except to the 
''hot country" in the State of Gruerrero, the 
Stevenses had to go back to the City of Mexico 
and start out again. They spent one evening at 
their hotel in the Capital going over maps and 
time-tables, to see what could best be done in the 
time they had, and finally decided to spend a day 
or two at Puebla, going from there out to Tlaxcala 
and Cholula, then down to Oaxaca and Mitla, 
back to Tehuacan, to Esperanza by tram, 
thence to Orizaba for a day and night, and 
thence back to the City of Mexico. If they had 
good weather and no delays on the road, this could, 
be done in eight days, but in order to feel less 
cramped for time, they thought they would not try 
to be back before the eleventh day. 

They found it very little trouble to make travel- 
ling plans in Mexico, for, in general, there was but 

339 



240 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

one train a day that would take them where they 
wanted to go. As there was nothing remarkable 
in the way of scenery between Mexico and Puebla, 
they decided to take that short trip in the night. 
As the sleeper was left behind at Apizaco in the 
night and picked up by an early morning train, 
they found to their surprise that they had slept 
very quietly on a side-track most of the night. It 
was still very early when they reached Puebla and 
drove to a hotel kept by an elderly Swiss with a 
long, white beard. He spoke English and made 
them comfortable in two sunny rooms and gave 
them a good breakfast, after which they set out 
to see Puebla. They found it a city of rather 
handsome dwellings and shops, particularly 
around the Plaza. The great Cathedral was the 
first place they visited, and here they found the 
immense columns of the interior draped in crim- 
son velvet during a nine-days ' celebration of some 
saint. Service was going on, and the children saw 
for the first time a wheel of bells used in the Mass. 
There was one on each side the chancel, a wheel 
about two feet in diameter suspended at a height 
of nine or ten feet, and to the edge were im- 



SOUTHWARD 241 

movably attached small bells, which could ring 
only when the wheel was turned. At certain 
points in the service two of the acolytes, or serv- 
ing boys, went to these wheels, turned them by a 
rope, and produced a very disagreeable jangling 
from the bells. ''I'll bet those boys like to do 
that," said Ray; "boys always like to make a 
noise, ' ' and indeed the acolytes did look as if they 
enjoyed it. Mr. Stevens said the interior of this 
Cathedral was considered the finest in Mexico, 
and the children thought probably it was — it cer- 
tainly looked very large and rich — but they did 
not care much about cathedrals, and were glad 
when their father and mother turned toward the 
market. This was quite differently arranged 
from that in Cuernavaca. There were long rows 
of stalls, all under cover, and certain kinds of 
articles were in one row and others in another, 
and there was no surrounding building. It was 
hard to get the children past the stalls where the 
native pottery was sold, from the largest platters 
and jars to the tiniest toy dishes. Ray just had 
to have some of these last, but she had to carry 
them in her hands without any wrappings, for the 



242 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

market people seldom have a bit of paper to wrap 
anything in — customers are supposed to come 
with bags or baskets. There were beautiful, flexi- 
ble baskets, too, and Mrs. Stevens bought several 
of these — they were so flexible they took up very 
little room in one's trunk — and there were clay 
figures representing ditferent kinds of people, the 
charcoal venders, the olla-carriers, etc., and carv- 
ings in onyx, a rich white and yellow stone that is 
found near Puebla. In one of the shops they 
found many things made of it, but the thing that 
pleased and amused the children most was two 
fried eggs of papier mache, lying on a platter. 
They looked real enough to eat, ' ' Only they would 
be cold by this time, ' ' said Roy. 

''Is this a historic place!" he asked. 

"Every place in Mexico has more or less his- 
tory," said his father. "Puebla as a city was 
founded in 1532 by the Spaniards, so it is not an old 
Indian city, like many of the others. The story 
goes that one of the Spanish friars who came over 
at the time of the Conquest was looking for a place 
to build a city somewhere between the coast and 
the City of Mexico, and one night he had a dream. 



SOUTHWARD 243 

He saw a beautiful landscape, marked with vol- 
canoes, small hills, and two rivers, and two angels 
came with a rod and chain and began to lay out 
the streets and squares of a town. On awakening, 
he resolved to take this dream as an omen, and he 
went about looking for a landscape to correspond 
with the one in his dream. He found it here, at 
last, and named his town Puebla de los Angeles 
(Ang'-hel-es), the City of the Angels; now it is 
shortened to Puebla, or the City. ' ' 

"I wonder if you have noticed how much tiles 
are used here in the buildings," said Mrs. Stevens 
to the twins. They had not, but they began to 
look about them and, to be sure, it was the most 
thoroughly tiled city they had seen. The domes 
of the churches were of glossy tiles, yellow and 
blue and white and flowered, and the floors were 
tiled, and tiles were set into the walls of private 
houses, while one house had its whole front made 
of them. 

"There is nothing as beautiful, though, as the 
Jockey Club building in the City of Mexico, ' ' said 
Mrs. Stevens, and the children agreed with her. 
That had been covered with blue and white tiles 



244 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

from India, brought over early in the eighteenth 
century, each costing, it was said, its actual weight 
in silver. 

''The name of Puebla was changed to Puebla 
Zaragoza in 1862, after the battle of the 5th of 
May or Cinco de Mayo, fought just outside the city. 
In this battle General Zaragoza drove back the 
French invaders and won a victory over a force 
three times the size of his own. ' ' 

"Did we ever have anything to do with the 
place?" asked Roy. 

"Yes, General Winfield Scott occupied it with 
his soldiers in 1847, during the Mexican War. 
Diaz took it back from the French in 1867, after 
they had held it four years, and since then it has 
been left in peace. It was here that Diaz was im- 
prisoned in the buildings of the State College, 
when a young soldier, and escaped by scaling the 
wall." 

"Well, father," said Roy, who was not satisfied 
with legends, but wanted facts, "of course that 
isn't a true story of the way the city was founded, 
and what is the true one ? ' ' 

"They say some of the inhabitants of Tlaxcala 



SOUTHWARD 245 

came over, about fifty families, from their own 
town and started this one. Tlaxcala was then a 
city of three hundred thousand people and Puebla 
was a mere village. Now, Tlaxcala has four thou- 
sand people and Puebla has nearly a hundred 
thousand. We are going over to Tlaxcala this 
afternoon, as there are one or two things there we 
ought to see. ' ' 

''Oh, good!" exclaimed Ray. "That is an old, 
old town, isn't it? You can tell by the name, I 
believe. The towns that begin with Tl or have a 
tl in the name are always old Indian towns, aren 't 
they?" 

"Quite right," said Mrs. Stevens; "I'm glad 
you are so observing. Yes, we shall see some of 
the most interesting things there that we have 
seen anywhere." 

And in the afternoon they took the train to the 
little station of Santa Ana and from there a mule- 
car across the valley, a six-miles ride through 
fields and picturesque villages, with the snow- 
peaked mountains visible in the distance. 

The tram stopped in the public square of the 
town, surrounded on two sides by shops with 



246 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

covered sidewalks, the roofs supported by pillars, 
on the third side by the Municipal buildings, and 
on the fourth by the elegant ruins of what seemed 
to have been a bishop's palace, judging from the 
symbols of the bishopric, the mitre, staff and keys, 
etc., that decorated the front of beautiful yellow 
tiles. 

In the Municipal buildings and in the Museum 
they saw several things connected with the Con- 
quest, copies of the portraits of the Indian chiefs 
of Tlaxcala who became allies and friends of 
Cortez and were baptised as Christians in 1520, 
a year before the Spaniards entered the Capital; 
idols belonging to the old Indian days and old 
pottery, found in tilling the fields ; and there was 
a banner which Cortez had given to the Indians, 
and the silk robes the chiefs wore when they were 
baptised, and the splendid embroidered vestments 
the priests wore on the same occasion. 

''Just think!" said Ray, in a tone of awe, 
''those clothes are nearly four hundred years old 
and look as nice as that! They won't be able to 
see much of our clothes four hundred years from 
now, will they I ' ' 



SOUTHWARD 247 

''Not of yours and Roy's, certainly," said Mrs. 
Stevens, smiling; "it is all I can do to make them 
last from one season to another." 

From the Municipal buildings, the party wan- 
dered through the little market-place, now almost 
empty, for it was afternoon and not a market-day 
— noticing that this market was of still another 
arrangement. Here there were separate plat- 
forms, each with its roof, and each devoted to a 
special kind of merchandise. For instance, one 
house was marked ''Rebozos," and one "Fruta," 
etc. 

''They say," said Mrs. Stevens, "that the 
people here speak Aztec as much as, or even more 
than, they do Spanish, and that there are some 
who do not speak Spanish at all. ' ' 

"Why, I didn't know anybody spoke Aztec any 
more!" exclaimed Roy, astonished. 

"Yes, it is still a living language, as we say. I 
think there are books in it, or at least grammars 
of Aztec." 

"Now, where are we going?" asked Ray, as 
they began to climb a street that went uphill, 
paved with cobbles and bordered by tall trees. 



248 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

"We are going to see the oldest church in the 
whole western hemisphere," said Mr. Stevens; 
"one that was begun in 1521, the year of the Con- 
quest, and in which Christianity was first preached 
in the New World. ' ' 

"And that was only three hundred and fifty 
years ago, or so," said Mrs. Stevens. "Think 
what changes have happened in an even shorter 
period, in the United States — the savages almost 
exterminated, the wild beasts killed off from Maine 
to Texas and Washington to Florida, towns and 
cities almost everywhere, schools and churches 
and libraries." 

"And the white people crowding in so that they 
quarrel with the Indian over what little land he 
has left," said Mr. Stevens. "The changes are 
far fewer here, for the Indians, instead of being 
exterminated, were converted, outwardly, at least, 
and adopted many of the customs of the con- 
queror, giving him in turn some of their own. 
Progress has been much slower and its traces are 
much more easily seen, since there is so little tear- 
ing down of old things to make room for the new, 
as with us." 



SOUTHWARD 249 

''Yes, but we never had dry land made out of 
water or a navy-yard up in the mountains or an 
island turned into a rock in a park, like Chapulte- 
pec," said Roy. 

''No, there you are right. Still, there is the 
opposite going on in our country, where we are 
turning our dry deserts into moist farming land." 

By this time they had reached the arched gate- 
way in the wall at the top of the hill, and found 
themselves in front of the little old church of San 
Francisco. At one end of the wall was the bell- 
tower which overlooked a wide expanse of country 
as well as the local bull-ring. 

"There is the barracks,— it used to be a con- 
vent," said Mr. Stevens, pointing to tEe building 
on the left, where several soldiers were standing. 

"I suppose the soldiers can go across the gate- 
way to the bell-tower and see the bull-fights with- 
out paying," said Ray. 

"They may, if they want to," said Roy; "once 
is enough for me. All the free passes in the world 
wouldn't make me go again." 

Inside the church they found the old pulpit 
with a tablet, stating that the gospel had been 



2-50 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

preached from it for the first time in the New 
World, and there was also the great font where 
had been baptised the chiefs whose portraits they 
had seen. The children, wandering about, started 
back as they were about to enter a small chapel, 
thinking they had seen a dead body ; but it proved 
to be a wooden image of Jesus, lying on a bed 
with pillows and coverlets, red spots to represent 
blood streaming from His brow and the wounds in 
the hands. Two women were kneeling at the 
head and foot, where small candles were burning 
faintly, and while the twins stood looking in, 
another woman came softly in with bunches of 
yellow marigolds from her little garden in the 
country, which she began to place reverently all 
about the edge of the bed. When this was done, 
she went around it, kneeling and kissing the hands 
and feet of the figure most fervently and affection- 
ately. 

The two children were differently affected. 
Roy wondered how any one could have any belief 
in an ugly, wooden image, and Ray could not help 
being impressed by the faith and love of the poor 
women to whom it seemed to mean so much. 



SOUTHWARD 251 

On their way farther up the hill to see another 
church, the family passed two curious things, 
looking like big barrels, in the middle of the 
roadway. 

"What on earth are they?" asked Eoy. 

Nobody knew or could even guess, so that Mr. 
Stevens had to look it up in his guide-book and 
found that they were a sort of corn-crib, to keep 
rats from carrying off the owner's corn. They 
were covered at the top loosely with a bit of wood 
and a thatch to keep the rain off, but had no real 
protection against thieves, showing that the neigh- 
bours and the villagers must be honest people. 

''I have always heard Mexicans were thieves," 
said Mrs. Stevens, ''and here we have been stop- 
ping in hotels for a month and leaving everything 
lying about except money and jewels, which we 
would not leave about anywhere, even at home, 
and nothing has been taken or even disturbed. ' ' 

''They cheat you when they sell things," said 
Eoy. 

"No, they don't cheat you," said Ray, stoutly; 
' ' they ask you higher prices than they ask one 
another because you've got more money and don't 



252 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

mind spending it; but you don't have to pay if 
you don't want to — that isn't cheating." 

''Besides, shopkeepers do that everywhere 
when they are dealing with Americans, for they 
think all Americans have money and nothing to 
do but spend it," said Mrs. Stevens. 

And on the whole, Eoy was finally convinced 
that overcharging was not cheating, though it 
might not be right. 

When they reached Santa Ana on their home- 
ward journey, it had grown almost dark, and the 
little station was very dimly lighted, but they 
could see the ticket-office and get their tickets. 
The station platform was covered with country- 
people who had come to sell sweet bread and cakes 
to the passengers on the train which was due. 
They had their wares in large, round, deep 
baskets, with a lantern set in the middle so that 
their cakes could be seen and so that they could 
make change, and they squatted on the floor in the 
dim candlelight with their scrapes and rebozos 
drawn up around their necks, for the air was 
chill, making a picturesque sight. The children 
bought some of the cakes, choosing some that had 



SOUTHWARD 253 

designs in white and pink sugar on the top, be- 
cause Roy said they looked like Aztec decorations, 
while Mr. and Mrs. Stevens found the hrioches, or 
sweet bread, very good indeed. They reached the 
hotel in Puebla in time to get a nine-o'clock sup- 
per, and went to bed very well satisfied with their 
day. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE GREAT PYRAMID 

The next morning was given to an expedition 
to the Pyramid of Cholula. They took the tram 
for the eight-mile ride to the village or town of 
Cholula, finding the trip very delightful. The 
road ran part of the way alongside of an aque- 
duct — they had learned to know aqueducts, not 
only by their arches but by their narrow tops. At 
first, the children had thought they were bridges 
and wondered why the people had built such 
narrow ones, often apparently dangerous to cross 
on. Now, they thought it a very picturesque 
and beautiful way to bring water into a town or 
city, much more so than the underground pipes 
at home. 

''We don't have room for anything in our 
streets," sighed Ray; "there are so many people 
and teams ! ' ' 

"We do have some aqueducts," said Mr. 

254 



THE GREAT PYRAMID 255 

Stevens, "but you haven't happened to see them. 
I must show them to you when we go back. ' ' 

They found the town of Cholula about the size 
of Tlaxcala, and the guide-book said that the 
market-place was still called by its Indian name, 
^ ' Tianquiz. ' ' 

"Is this place older even than Tlaxcala T ' asked 
Roy. 

"Nobody knows. It must be a very, very old 
place, because when the Spaniards came they 
found Indians here who could not tell them any- 
thing about the ancient history of the pyramid, it 
had been erected so long ago, by a people even 
they did not know." 

"I never saw so many churches in such a 
little place," said Ray. 

"Yes, there are thirty or more, now, and in 
Cortez' time he counted four hundred towers, 
representing nearly four hundred temples. So 
you see it must have been as large as Tlaxcala, 
probably. ' ' 

"I can't get used to calling a place a city when 
it just has huts," said Roy; "it seems to me it's 
the kind of buildings that ought to make a city." 



256 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

^'As a rule, it's the number of people that en- 
titles a place to the name of city; and in those 
days they had something besides huts, for their 
temples were very fine," said Mr. Stevens. 

''Well, Where's the pyramid?" said Roy. 
''Why don't we come to it?" 

His father and mother smiled; they had pur- 
posely refrained from saying what the pyramid 
looked like, in order to surprise the children. 

"Don't you see it?" asked Mrs. Stevens. 

"Nothing that looks to me like a pyramid. I 
thought it would be like those pyramids in Egypt, 
all big, square rocks that you had to be dragged 
up to the top of," replied Roy. 

"Here's a hill," said Ray, "would you call that 
a pyramid?" 

"Yes, that hill at our right is the pyramid, or, 
rather, it covers the pyramid. Under the grass 
and bushes and trees are layer upon layer of brick 
and clay and limestone up to one hundred and 
seventy-seven feet in height. At the base, this 
erection is twice as long as the great pyramid of 
Cheops in Egypt, and the whole base covers 
twenty acres. You could see formerly that it was 



THE GREAT PYRAMID 257 

built in terraces, something like those of Egypt, 
but now the earth and vegetation have covered 
these up and made the surface more or less 
even. ' ' 

''We shan't have to be dragged up, Roy," said 
Mrs. Stevens, "for around on the west side there 
is a stone stairway. They say the sides of the 
pyramid faced exactly east, west, north, and 
south. ' ' 

They found the stairway and by taking the 
steps slowly they arrived at the top without any 
great fatigue. Eay liked it much better, she said, 
than being hauled and pulled from one terrace to 
another as Mark Twain said travellers were got 
to the top in Egypt. Many of her ideas of Euro- 
pean travel had been received from "Innocents 
Abroad, ' ' which she and Roy had pored over since 
they were able to read. 

Once at the top, the family had a fine view of 
the valley surrounding them, the mountains, the 
temples, and of other villages. They saw two 
other pyramids, not so large nor so high. One of 
these had sides almost vertical and had to be 
scaled by climbing a ladder; but as there was 



258 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

nothing to be seen at the top, even the children did 
not care to climb it. 

"Now, father, tell us all you know about the 
pyramid," said Ray, as they seated themselves, 
slightly out of breath, at the top of the 
steps. 

*'No one knows very much," replied Mr. 
Stevens. "The pyramid was here when the 
Aztecs came, and the people they found here told 
them it was built by some giants, the only beings 
left on earth after a great deluge had drowned 
everybody else. These giants set out to build a 
tower up to heaven, as a refuge in case of another 
deluge, but the gods were so angry at such pre- 
sumption that they sent down fire from heaven 
and destroyed the giants." 

"Almost like the Flood and the Tower of Babel 
in the Old Testament ! ' ' exclaimed Roy. 

"Yes, these old Indians seem to have had 
several legends corresponding to the stories in the 
Hebrew records," said Mr. Stevens. "It makes 
them even more mysterious and interesting. 
When the Spaniards came, a great temple stood 
on the top of the pyramid, with fires that threw a 



THE GREAT PYRAMID 259 

light over the country around. In the temple was 
the image of Quetzalcoat'l, not the one you saw in 
the Museum, however. This one represented him 
as black, with a great mitre on his head and fire 
issuing from it, a golden collar, turquoise ear- 
rings, a jewelled sceptre and a shield with paint- 
ings on it, to symbolise his control over the winds, 
for he was the god of the air. ' ' 

''And he was going to come back some day and 
rule over them, and when they saw the Spaniards 
they thought they had come with him, wasn't that 
what you told us ? " asked Ray. 

"Yes, they had been waiting many centuries, 
and in the meantime this pyramid and its temple 
had been visited constantly by pilgrims from 
hundreds of miles around. ' ' 

''Well, maybe the Spaniards weren't very mild 
and gentle, like What 's-his-name, but they couldn't 
have looked half as fierce; and after all, they did 
rule over the Indians and get them civilised," 
said Roy. 

"Yes, good has come of the Conquest," said Mr. 
Stevens, "for even the Spaniards were not so 
cruel as the Indian tribes were to one another; 



260 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and the fact that after only three hundred years, 
the people could throw off the Spanish yoke and 
govern themselves and in less than tifty years 
thereafter count for something among the civilised 
nations of the earth, shows that there was a fine 
foundation, and that the mixture of Spanish blood 
at the time was the alloy needed to make the native 
material workable." 

The children didn't understand this very well, 
so they made no comment, but proposed to see 
which could get down the steps of the pyramid 
first; and as their mother gave the word, they 
started and were soon leaping and jumping and 
running toward the foot of the steps. 

At the foot, they waited for their parents, and 
Ray greeted them with a question. "What did 
the Spaniards do when they found the temple and 
the image!" she asked. 

''They tore down the temple, as they always 
did, and that church we glanced into was put up 
in its stead. What became of the image I don't 
know, but I can guess what became of its 
gold collar and turquoise earrings and jewelled 
sceptre," said Mr. Stevens. 



THE GREAT PYRAMID 261 

''Yes, so can I," said Ray; "tlie soldiers took 
them. ' ' 

''What time do we start to-morrow, father, for 
th« South?" asked Roy. 

"We must get up at five in the morn- 
ing " 

' ' Oh, dear ! ' ' groaned the children. 

" Get breakfast at the station, and take the 

train at fifteen minutes past six." 

"And when shall we get to Oaxacal" 

"About half -past six in the evening, just in 
time for dinner." 

"We'll certainly have to go to bed early," said 
Ray, and so they did. At five the next morning 
the twins were still sleeping soundly when a soft 
voice and a gentle tap on the door from the por- 
tero woke them from their dreams. They rubbed 
their eyes and jumped out of bed, for they knew 
that if they missed this train it would only mean 
waiting until the next morning and starting at 
the same hour. Their mother came in to help 
them finish dressing, and went all around the 
room with the lighted candle to make sure they 
were not leaving anything. 



262 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

. ''What a nice portero that was," she said, "to 
wake us so gently without rousing the whole 
house ! In one of our hotels, he would have gone 
along the corridors in heavy boots or shoes, bang- 
ing on the doors and shouting 'Five o'clock! five 
o'clock!' and everybody in the house would have 
been scolding the departing guests for being the 
cause of all the noise. ' ' 

"Well, five o'clock is five o'clock, whether he 
shouts it or whispers it, so far as I'm concerned," 
said Roy, yawning; "it's quite too early to get 
up." 

"Be sure to put on your overcoat, my boy, for 
it will be chilly until the sun gets well up," said 
his mother, "and Eay must wear her heavy 
jacket. ' ' 

When they came creeping noiselessly down- 
stairs they found the portero sitting on the hard 
wooden bench where he had been sleeping, with all 
their hand-baggage about him. The cochero (co- 
chay'-ro), whom they had engaged the evening be- 
fore, stood outside with his carriage, and after 
giving some money to the portero, who wished 
them a cordial "good journey," they all stowed 



THE GREAT PYRAMID 263 

themselves in the coach and went rattling through 
the cobblestone streets, past the barred and 
shuttered houses and the silent shops and 
churches. Nobody was stirring except the street- 
cleaners, who were busy on every block with their 
brooms and brushes and square pieces of matting 
for dustpans. They all had their scrapes close up 
about their necks and shoulders, for it was indeed 
very chilly before sunrise even in August. Here 
and there a pale street-lamp burned, but there 
were no lights in the houses and no smoke from 
the chimneys. The latter is not strange, since 
there were no chimneys, most Mexican kitchens 
having charcoal ranges and letting the smoke 
escape into the room and thence out of the doors 
and windows. This is why the kitchen walls gradu- 
ally become dingier and dingier until, in the 
poorer houses, where they are almost never 
cleaned, they are quite black. 

At last the party arrived at the station and found 
quite a crowd of third-class passengers waiting, 
many of whom looked as if they had passed the 
night there for want of a better place to stay. 
These had their provisions with them or were huj- 



264 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ing them at little shops and stands near by, and 
eating them, as usual, seated on the steps or the 
ground. 

Fortunately, the Stevens family could do better 
than this, and they soon found the dining-room of 
the station, where a Chinaman called "Charlie" 
waited on them and another Chinaman cooked 
what they ordered in his little kitchen, visible 
from where they sat. He gave them some bacon 
and eggs, very hot toast, and fair coffee, and 
they boarded the train ready and eager for new 
sights and experiences. 



CHAPTER XXII 
OAXACA 

''Look hard at Popo, children," said Mrs. 
Stevens; ''you won't see him again for ten 
days." 

The Smoking Mountain and the Sleeping 
Woman were very white and beautiful against the 
western sky with the morning sun shining on them, 
and the children for awhile looked more at them 
than at the scenery they were passing through. 
They became finally very much interested in a 
Mexican family of the better class, father, mother, 
and four children, who were making a journey to 
the baths of Tehuacan, in the same car with them- 
selves. They all seemed in fine spirits, and were 
very demonstrative, and when, occasionally, the 
children would go to speak to the father or mother, 
it was pretty to see them kiss the hand of 
either parent impulsively and affectionately. The 

265 



266 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

younger boy and girl thought of an amusement 
which Roy and Ray afterward tried with great 
success. Opening two adjoining car-windows, the 
girl at the forward window held out pieces of 
paper which the wind caught and blew back, and 
the boy at the other window tried to catch them 
as they flew by. It was quite exciting until he 
grew so expert that he caught nearly every piece, 
when he ceased to be interested and the game was 
given up. 

The children felt quite sorry to see the family 
get out at Tehuacan, and responded regretfully to 
the smiling good-bye salutations of their Mexican 
fellow-travellers. But they consoled themselves 
with some good ham sandwiches which ' ' Charlie ' ' 
had put up for them, and began to pay more atten- 
tion to the country they were passing through. It 
was very beautiful, especially when they entered 
the canons, with the river running alongside of 
them and the mountains towering over their 
heads ; and the sides of the mountains were dotted 
everywhere with the curious organ-cactus which 
grew here to be a great tree. Then after they 
began to descend to more tropical levels they 



OAXACA 267 

passed queer thatched huts in which the natives 
lived, shaded by banana trees, and villages where 
the people and animals seemed all to live on an 
equality and everybody was out of doors. Though 
this was the only train from the north in twenty- 
four hours, the villagers did not seem to take 
much interest in it, and only those who had things 
to sell came to greet it. 

Once, as they ran close along the rocky sides of 
the canon, the twins, who were standing on the 
rear platform, saw something they could hardly 
believe to be true. They came running into the 
car, each wanting to be first with the story, but 
as Roy had been first to see, Ray decided he ought 
to be allowed to make the report. 

''Father! mother!" he cried; ''we saw people 
living in a cave ! ' ' 

"Really?" asked Mrs. Stevens. 

"Yes, really, a man and a woman, and a young 
lady, and a little girl. The rock was hollowed out 
and made a roof and a floor and it was about 
eight or ten feet below the tracks and we could 
look right in." 

"Perhaps they were just stopping there to eat 



268 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

and were going somewhere along the railroad," 
suggested Mr. Stevens. 

"No, I'm sure they were living there," said 
Ray. 

"We'll watch for them, coming back," said 
Roy. 

' ' If you find them still there several days from 
now, we must certainly believe they live there," 
said Mrs. Stevens. 

And I may as well say now that the children 
did see them on their return, and observed their 
furniture, which consisted of grass sleeping-mats, 
some jars and bowls on a ledge, the usual little 
charcoal stove of red clay, and some baskets. 
They looked clean and contented, and the children 
were fascinated with this easy way of housekeep- 
ing and delighted to think they could say they had 
seen real cave-dwellers. 

"What do they do when it rains, father?" asked 
Ray. 

"If it does not rain toward the cave-opening, 
they are safe," said Mr. Stevens, "and if it does, 
I suppose they can hang up some of their mats to 
shut out the worst of it. Such a cave as this has 



OAXACA 269 

an advantage over the caves of northern Mexico, 
for most of those are dark and this one is light 
and well-ventilated. ' ' 

"1 wonder if they would like to live as we do," 

said Roy. 

"I imagine they would find it much harder than 
we should to live as they do," said his father. 

"It must be a cool, shady place to live in when 
it's hot," said Eay; "just like our cellar!" 

The lowest point on the line was Quiotepec 
(Kee-o'-te-pec), less than two thousand feet above 
sea-level, and for a time the road ran through a 
tropical district until they reached Tomellin (To- 
may'-in), the dinner station. The children were 
hungry, but could hardly get past the fruit-sellers, 
a group of women seated on the station platform, 
each with her basket of oranges, bananas, limes, 
aguacates, and other fruit. The fruit looked 
delicious and seemed to them very cheap, but their 
father and mother said it would be still cheaper 
just before the train started, so Roy and Ray 
passed them reluctantly and went in to dinner. 
It was a very good dinner, indeed, cooked and 
served by Chinamen, and the children did full 



270 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

justice to it. It seemed strange to have American 
pie and cake away down there, but their father 
reminded them that the road was under English 
management and that most of the first-class travel 
was American and English. When it was over, 
the twins felt very little need of fruit, though they 
bought some because it looked so pretty in the big 
bowls and baskets the women carried. 

The scenery as the road ascended from this 
point was very grand, and when they reached 
Las Sedas, the highest point of the line, the 
children could not help being impressed with the 
magnificent view, where one range of mountains 
stood out beyond another, as far as the eye could 
reach, "just like big waves," Roy said. It was 
dusk when the train at last reached Oaxaca, the 
end of the route for the time being, though one of 
these days the road may be completed all the way 
to Central and even South America. 

They could not see much of Oaxaca at that time 
of night, but they were so tired that this did not 
make much difference. They sat down at a small 
table in the patio of the hotel, which was roofed 
over and used as a dining-room — and the children 



OAXACA 271 

could hardly keep their eyes open long enough to 
eat their soup. They were glad enough to be put 
to bed in their little ground-floor rooms, to which 
a pleasant Mexican maid conducted them through 
several patios filled with flowering plants, and to 
fall asleep to the sound of musically falling water 
from the fountain in the nearest patio. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stevens, having seen the children safely in 
bed, strolled out to the Plaza to hear the band 
play and see the natives having their weekly 
promenade. 

In the morning the children awoke quite ready 
for anything, and the first thing the family did 
after breakfast was to take their usual walk about 
the streets, to look at the churches, the markets, 
and the people in the squares. 

The town seemed different in some ways from 
the others they had seen, though the houses looked 
very much the same. Probably, the difference 
was in the people, who were not so handsome and 
did not seem so good-natured as those at Cuer- 
navaca. Eay turned to her mother with a shiver 
and a look of disgust as she pointed to a youth 
cleaning the streets with his hands, sweeping up 



272 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the dirt with his fingers into his braided straw 
mat. 

"Yes," said her mother, ''that seems the most 
hopeless thing about these people — they do not 
seem to know cleanly ways of doing things, even 
when they mean to be clean. ' ' 

The market, as usual, was the most interesting 
place. Ray was so delighted with a parrot that 
imitated a bad cough that she wanted to buy it, 
but Mrs. Stevens very wisely refused. A cough- 
ing parrot might be quite amusing for a short 
time but would soon be a most annoying com- 
panion. It seemed as if there were everything 
imaginable in this market, but the sensation of 
the day met them as they came out into the 
street. 

"Just look at that!" exclaimed Roy, as he 
caught Ray's arm and turned her around, and 
Ray was equally excited. Indeed, the whole 
family stood and stared; for they saw a young 
man carrying a round bushel basket on his back 
and in the basket sat a wrinkled, skinny, withered 
old woman, with her head and arms visible, the 
latter held out to beg for alms. 



OAXACA 273 

"Well, that beats the Dutch!" exclaimed Mr. 
Stevens. "That is a new way of begging." 

"Wouldn't you think it would be easier to leave 
her at home and work for a living than to carry 
that load about all day long!" said Eoy. 

' ' There must be something the matter with her 
limbs," said Mrs. Stevens, "or she never could 
be got into that basket. ' ' 

"Oh, I don't know," said Mr. Stevens, doubt- 
fully. "If she is as shrivelled up all over as her 
arms and shoulders are, she might go in very com- 
fortiably, though I suppose she is crippled in 
some way." 

"Do you suppose it is his mother?" asked Ray, 
in an awestruck tone. 

"More like his grandmother, or even his great- 
grandmother, ' ' said Roy ; "she looks as old as the 
hills." 

"Would you do that for mother, Roy?" asked 
Ray, with her eyes fixed pityingly on the old 
woman, to whom Mrs. Stevens had given a few 
centavos. 

"No, I wouldn't," said Roy, stoutly, "unless" — 
he hesitated — "unless there wasn't any other way 



274 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

in the world to take care of her. I'd work till I 
dropped, before I'd do it." 

''Yes, my dear, I hope you would," said Mrs. 
Stevens, "for even if you were willing I shouldn't 
he, if I were ever so helpless. Besides, / might be 
the one to drop. ' ' 

''We can't say he does it because he is lazy," 
said Mr. Stevens, much puzzled, "because this 
must be much harder than working. ' ' 

"Perhaps his grandmother likes to see things 
and this is the only way she can, ' ' suggested Ray, 
at which idea they all had to laugh. In the mean- 
time, the two beggars had passed on, no one ex- 
cept the Stevenses having paid any attention to 
them, so that they must have been a common 
sight.. 

There was a very magnificent church in Oaxaca 
which the family wished to visit, but by mistake 
they got to a little chapel of the same name. The 
first sight that greeted them as they entered the 
bare, whitewashed little place, was a painted, 
wooden image of Jesus seated near the door, 
wearing the crown of thorns, with drops of blood 
painted on His face, the upper part of the body 



OAXACA 275 

wearing a cape of cloth, while the lower was 
dressed in a pair of coarse white cotton drawers, 
with a drawstring at the waist and knees, and an 
edging of ruffles and lace. ' ' Poor things ! ' ' mur- 
mured Mrs. Stevens, ''they did the best they 
could," while the children did not know whether 
to laugh or be shocked at this queer treatment of 
a sacred image. 

The real church of Santo Domingo was not far 
away, and when they entered it they were not 
surprised to hear that thirteen million dollars had 
been spent on it. The roof and walls of the im- 
mense building were covered with figures carved 
in relief, full-length portraits of saints and mar- 
tyrs, rich tracery with fruits and flowers inter- 
mingled, and all in colours and gilt. At one time 
the figures of the saints had been literally covered 
with gold leaf, but the soldiers quartered near by 
in war times had carried off much of this. The 
church was not really beautiful, but it was 
gorgeous, and the most expensive church building 
in the New World. 

"I suppose Oaxaca has got some history, too," 
said Roy. 



276 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Yes, indeed," said Mr. Stevens, "Cortez sent 
his men down here the very year of the Conquest, 
1521, and having a fine report of all this country 
got the King of Spain to give him a grant of a 
large estate, containing twenty or more towns and 
villages and more than twenty thousand people 
who became subject to him. Oaxaca was one of 
the towns, and Cortez took the title of Marquis of 
Oaxaca, after which he was generally called 'the 
Marquis.' " 

"My! wasn't he a thief!" exclaimed Roy. 

"It is interesting to know that his men came 
down he^ pretty nearly by the same road we took 
in coming down by rail," said Mr. Stevens. "It 
was an old town when they found it, dating 
back at least to 1485, and probably much 
earlier." 

"Has it any modern history?" asked Roy. 

"Yes, President Juarez was born here in 1806 
and President Diaz in 1830. The city has been 
called 'A dwelling place of heroes in the garden 
of the gods,' referring to its great men and its 
beautiful surroundings. All through the war for 
independence, Oaxaca was the scene of fighting 



OAXACA 277 

and was first taken for the patriots by General 
Morelos." 

' ' The same we heard of in Cuernavaca ? ' ' 

''Yes, tlie same. Later, it fell into the hands of 
the royalists and again of the patriots, and so on 
until the war ended and independence was won. 
In the war against Santa Anna, Diaz defended 
Oaxaca twice against the usurper, and when, 
during the war against the French, Bazaine be- 
sieged the town, Diaz held it until he was taken 
prisoner. Only a year later, he came back and 
recaptured it. ' ' 

"He lived here awhile, didn't he?" asked Mrs. 
Stevens. 

"Yes, this is where the Mexicans gave him the 
estate called La Noria, and where he spent the 
first two years of his married life." 

"I just love to know I've been where he has 
lived ! ' ' exclaimed Ray, enthusiastically. 

"You are a little hero-worshipper," said her 
mother, smiling. ' 



CHAPTEE XXIII 
THE ROAD TO MITLA 

A DELIGHTFUL surprisG awaited the children 
next morning at breakfast. They came into the 
dining-room or dining-court, as they thought it 
ought to be called, and saw Mr. Clarke and Harry 
seated at one of the tables. 

''Why," exclaimed every one, "we didn't know 
you were here ! " 

"Yes," said Mr. Clarke, "Harry and I came 
down day before yesterday, I on business and he 
for company. The business is over, and as we 
have both seen Oaxaca, we were just trying to 
decide what we should do to-day. ' ' 

"Why not go to Mitla with us!" asked all the 
Stevenses at once. 

"That is an idea," said Mr. Clarke; "I went 
there once, years ago, but Harry has never seen 
the ruins. How shall we arrange it? One coach 
will not hold us all. ' ' 

278 




o 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 279 

''You and Mr. Stevens take one team, father, 
and let me go with the others. And you can come 
behind us so as to see that nothing happens to 
us," suggested Harry. The children began to 
dance about joyfully, when they found this plan 
was to be carried out, and it was arranged that 
they should start at half -past nine. 

"Is there really any danger?" asked Mrs. 
Stevens, a little frightened at the thought of 
driving the long distance without a man in the 
carriage and with the three children to take 
care of. 

''Not the least, if you have a good driver," 
replied Mr. Clarke. "My sister went to Mitla 
quite alone from Oaxaca, when she was here. It 
so happened that none of us could go with her at 
the time, her stay was limited, and she was deter- 
mined to see the ruins. I felt rather anxious 
about it, but I wrote the landlord here asking him 
to pick out a driver who was a good man as well 
as a good coachman, and he took pains to do so. 
She said afterward she had not a moment's anxi- 
ety and enjoyed it all immensely. She spoke very 
little Spanish, and my chief fear was that she 



280 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

might fall ill or that there might be some accident 
and she might not be able to communicate with 
the people about her. Fortunately, nothing hap- 
pened, and she has always been glad of the 
experience. ' ' 

''I think she was pretty brave," said Eay. 

''One must usually risk a little for the best 
things," said Mr. Clarke, smiling at her. ''But 
you needn't be at all afraid to-day, little maid, 
for we shall drive along close behind you. ' ' 

The two teams drew up to the door promptly at 
half -past nine, and the outfit amused the children 
very much. The carriages were furnished with 
very few springs, the wheels were very far apart, 
the curtains and seats very dilapidated, and the 
drivers much in need of being "scrubbed on the 
stones" as Harry said. The pole-animals were 
mules and the leaders three rather thin and 
shabby horses. The driver was furnished with 
an exceedingly long whip which he coiled and 
flung far out to touch the near leader, with such 
recklessness that it was dangerous to be any- 
where about. Indeed, the Indians they met had 
frequently to take to the bushes to save their 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 281 

heads and shoulders, and some of them evidently 
did not like it very much, judging from their 
scowls. The word was finally given to the drivers 
to start, the drivers gave the word to the steeds, 
and away they went, rattling over the cobble- 
stones of Oaxaca, bumping over the culverts in the 
middle of the narrow streets and trenching upon 
the narrow sidewalks, until Eoy maintained that 
all his teeth were loose and the three children 
stopped talking for fear they should bite their 
tongues. 

''Is it this way all the way, I wonder," said 
Mrs. Stevens, in despair. 

''Oh, no, mother, don't you remember," said 
Ray, "that the guide-book said once we were out 
of Oaxaca it was a good road!" 

"So it did," said her mother, "and we'll live 
in hope." 

The guide-book proved to be right for the most 
part, though there were many places where the 
rains had washed off the dirt and left the rocks 
exposed, making jolting-places where Ray par- 
ticularly, being light in weight, flew right off the 
seat and up into the air. They all took these very 



282 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

good-naturedly, and Harry's suggestion that per- 
haps she might fly up high enough to come down 
in the other carriage was received with shouts of 
laughter. 

They met a constant stream of Indians coming 
to Oaxaca to market, and noticed what they had 
already observed on the railway journey south, 
that the beast of burden here was the ox rather 
than the donkey, though the donkey was still 
used. The oxen were hitched to the carts and 
to the plow, and the donkeys carried people 
and the smaller burdens. 

"Aren't these oxen splendid creatures!" ex- 
claimed Harry. 

''Not quite so fine as the Roman ones," said 
Mrs. Stevens, "many of which are pure white, but 
these certainly are massive. The carts are very 
interesting, too." 

"Some of them are different from the others," 
said Eay; "they all have poles standing up 
around them, but some have netting stretched 
from one pole to another." 

"That's to carry things that would fall out in 
the spaces between the poles," said Roy, "like 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 283 

charcoal and vegetables. The grass and hay and 
things like that don't need the netting. What 
funny wheels they have ! ' ' 

''Yes, perfectly solid like car-wheels, only made 
of wood," said Harry. "Have you noticed how 
low the oxen are geared? The oxbow holds their 
noses almost to the ground." 

"They must be glad to get it off and stretch 
their necks," said Ray. "I saw one man in 
Oaxaca unhitch his oxen from the cart, when he 
stopped to deliver a load of charcoal." 

"And his wife and baby were sitting right in 
with the charcoal," said her mother. 

"Yes, and when they got out and he tipped the 
cart up at one end the baby crawled in under the 
other and began picking up little bits of coal, and 
the black dust just sifted through the bottom of 
the car all over him, ' ' added Roy. 

"I wonder if they eat charcoal as well as cook 
with it," said Ray. "They must do something to 
make their teeth so white." 

"It seems to me these oxen are very smart," 
said Roy; "the man isn't driving at all, and they 
go along just the same, and if he wants them to 



I 



284 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

turn out he just pokes the near ox with his stick 
and they understand. He seems to drive with his 
stick entirely, for I haven't seen any reins. And 
all the harness they have is just the oxbow." 

' ' The people seem to think we are very funny, ' ' 
said Ray; "they often smile as if they were 
amused at us." 

"Perhaps it is because your hat is on one side," 
said her mother, straightening the hat. 

"I should think it would be hind-side-before, 
from the number of times I have gone up and 
come down," said Ray, laughing, "but I think 
it is just because we all look different from 
them. ' ' 

"Well, we're even there," said Roy, "for we 
often smile at them. ' ' 

"I'm going to see if they'll speak to me," said 
Ray; "may I, mother?" 

"Yes, if you'll pick out a party with children in 
it," said Mrs. Stevens. 

Ray was delighted to find that her smile and nod 
were returned by the mothers if not by the 
children, and soon the whole party were saluting 
and being saluted as they drove along. It made 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 285 

the drive much more cheerful and '4ess lone- 
some," Eay said. 

When the morning was about half over, the 
driver stopped, looked back at the other driver 
and made signs. Driver number two communi- 
cated with his passengers and nodded yes, and 
driver number one promptly turned into a road 
at the right that ran into a grove of trees and a 
village. 

"Why, where are we going?" asked Roy. 

' ' This must be the way to the great tree of Tule 
(Tu'-lay)," said his mother, "and apparently 
most of the villagers are going with us." 

There was certainly quite a following of people, 
and as there was recess at the village school at 
this moment most of the crowd were small boys. 
They immediately noticed Mrs. Stevens' camera, 
and all flocked about the carriage suggesting that 
she take their photographs. One of them, a boy 
of eleven, seemed to be the leader and the most 
persistent. "But," said Mrs. Stevens, in fun, 
''why should I take your picture? You are not 
good-looking. ' ' 

"Yes," said the boy, quite seriously, "yes, I am 



286 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

good-looking," and he really was very handsome, 
so that she would have been tempted to take him 
if she could have separated him from the crowd, 
which seemed impossible. The carriage stopped 
at the gate of the village churchyard, and the 
children were soon inside the enclosure, so im- 
pressed with the size of the great tree that at first 
they could only walk around and around it with- 
out saying a word. Six feet from the ground, it 
measured one hundred and fifty-four feet around, 
and twenty-eight people standing with their backs 
against it and their arms outstretched, touching 
hands, could just encircle it. 

''I wonder how old it is," said Roy; "it must 
have been here long before the Spaniards. ' ' 

''Oh, yes," said Harry, "as old as the ruined 
temples, I imagine, and no one knows when they 
were built. ' ' 

"What kind of a tree is if?" asked Eay. 

"An ahuehuetl, the same as the tree of La 
Noche Triste, don't you see?" said Roy. 

"Yes, so it is, a kind of cypress." 

"What's this, mother, here on the side?" called 
Roy. 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 287 

"Oh, I was looking for that," said Mrs. Stevens. 
''That's where Hnmboldt, the great German 
traveller, wrote an inscription on the hark. It is 
almost covered with new bark. He was here in 
1803, I believe." 

''Well, then we can get some idea of its age," 
said Harry, "for that was over a hundred years 
ago, and this two inches of bark shows the growth 
of that period." 

"Then it must date back to the Flood," said 
Eoy, joking. 

The other carriage had come by this time, and 
after a further examination of the tree the two 
parties resumed their drive and were soon at 
Tlacolula, a little blue and white village with a 
pretty plaza where they were to take luncheon. 
They entered the small hotel through a sort of 
general store, and found themselves in a long, 
narrow patio with a tiled gallery and the usual 
flowering vines and central cypress. The sun 
shone into one side of it while the other was in 
shade, and in the shade tables covered with clean, 
white cloths were awaiting any travellers that 
might come along. To say that the children did 



288 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

justice to the soup and beefsteak, the brioches and 
chocolate, is unnecessary, for the long drive in 
the open air and the "shaking down" it had given 
to what they had already eaten had left a great 
void to be filled. The drivers were not forgotten, 
and though they had carried dry bread with them 
for their mid-day meal in case their employers 
should not see fit to remember them at noon, they 
were much better pleased to have the hot enchi- 
ladas that Mr. Clarke ordered sent out to them, 
and were still wiping the crumbs from their 
moustaches when the party again got into the 
carriages. 

After that the journey was on a down grade 
most of the time and they reached Mitla early in 
the afternoon, before the daily dust-storm had 
more than begun and while the sun was still 
shining. They were glad to alight and stretch 
their limbs, and yet, as they looked back on the 
beautiful drive across the plain with mountains 
on either side, with trees and shrubs, vines and 
flowers bordering the road, with the cactus vil- 
lages, the pretty, saucy children and barking dogs 
and glimpses of Indian life, the continual proces- 



THE ROAD TO MITLA 289 

sion of country people going and coming, they all 
agreed that it was the most interesting drive they 
had ever had, and that they would really be sorry 
for travellers when the railroad was extended to 
Mitla as was promised and expected. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

MITLA 

They entered Mitla by crossing a half-dried-up 
stream, and found themselves in the usual village 
of adobe huts with cactus hedges around the little, 
barren yards — one could not call them gardens. 
At every opening in the hedge stood smiling 
children, for whom the coming of such travellers 
was the event of the day, and every family seemed 
to own a dog whose business it was to bark at 
teams or strangers. The hacienda of Don Felix 
Quero (Fay'-lix Kay'-ro), where they were to stop, 
since there was no hotel in the town, was situated 
on the Plaza. It was a long, low, whitewashed 
house with a gallery along the front, facing the 
market-place — a large, open space with three 
great cypress-trees and a low, tiled shed in the 
shape of an L. Don Felix's family was the 
only white family in the village, and he kept 

390 



MITLA 291 

the general store of the place in one corner of his 
house. 

"It looks just like the little stores in the villages 
at home, ' ' said Eay, as they went in and met Don 
Felix, a short, kindly little man with grey hair 
and moustache. After their names were all 
written in the register, Don Felix led them 
through the shop into his large and beautiful 
patio, where it seemed as if there were "every- 
thing that was in the botany," Harry said, and 
introduced them to his daughter, a smiling, cor- 
dial, little seiiorita with a ruffled apron and a 
bunch of keys as signs of her housekeepership. 
She opened three of the six rooms at one end of 
the patio, and Ray and her mother took one, Roy 
and his father another, and Mr. Clarke and Harry 
the third. After a few minutes spent in brushing 
and washing off the dust of their journey, Ray 
came out into the tiled gallery and found 
Roy, who was already out and looking about 
him. 

"We've got such a nice room," said Ray, en- 
thusiastically; "little canopies over the beds, like 
tents, and a barred window and a rosebush peep- 



292 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ing in at the bars. And mother has a table and a 
chair and I have a table and a chair, and each one 
of us has a clothes-rack. And there are two 
candles and two wash-bowls, everything in 
couples." 

''You must have been spending your time count- 
ing things," said Roy. ''I've been out here look- 
ing around the patio. See the birds," and he 
pointed to a row of cages overhead where mock- 
ing birds and parroquets were hanging. ' ' There 's 
a big fountain right in the middle," he con- 
tinued, "you can hardly see it for the vines, but 
it's there and it's a kind of well, too, for I saw 
them draw water from it. ' ' 

Just then a big front door opened from the 
Plaza and the horses of their team were brought 
in by the mozo and watered at the well, and were 
then led through the patio to a sort of barn-yard 
beyond. Two white cats came strolling into the 
gallery and rubbed against the children, and then 
a big, white setter, with a very benevolent face, 
came to sniff at them. 

"I'd just love to stay here a week," said Ray, 
and Roy heartily agreed with her. 



MITLA 293 

Presently, the others appeared, and after 
arranging with the hospitable senorita to have 
dinner at seven, they departed on foot for the 
ruins, which were not very far off. A few dogs 
barked at them, but no one paid any attention and 
the dogs presently retired; then several small 
children seemed to spring up from the ground at 
various places and the party had quite an escort 
by the time they arrived at the ruins. The twins 
were delighted to find they had to cross a stream 
on the stones, and both Roy and Ray were quite 
anxious lest their mother should not be able to 
cross, and were full of directions as to how to 
do it. 

''Here, take my hand, mother!" said Roy. 

"Don't step on that stone, mother, it's wob- 
bly, ' ' advised Ray. 

"Why, children, you seem to think I 
am quite a helpless body," laughed Mrs. 
Stevens. 

"It's just because we don't want anything to 
happen to the only mother we 've got, ' ' said Ray, 
affectionately. 

"How about the only father you've got?" said 



294 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

Mr. Stevens, in an injured tone. "I suppose I 
might fall into this raging stream and get 
drowned, for all you would take notice." 

"Raging stream!" exclaimed Ray, ''I don't be- 
lieve it ever raged in its life." 

''Just wait until to-morrow," said Mr. Clarke. 
''If we should have a good night's rain, it would 
be impossible for you to get to the ruins to- 
morrow except by fording." 

"It hardly seems possible," said Mrs. Stevens. 
"We must make the most of our time to-day, then, 
lest this should be our only visit. ' ' 

As they climbed the low hill on the farther side 
of the creek-bed, a man came out of one of the 
adobe huts carrying some keys and announced 
himself as the custodian of the ruins and a guide. 
He tried to shoo the little Indians away, but they 
were not easily dispersed and always came back 
again, 

' ' I wonder if the guide knows any English and 
can tell us about the ruins," said Mrs. Stevens. 
Mr. Stevens asked the man if he spoke English, 
and found he did not, though he could understand 
the language a little. 



MITLA 295 

''I think Mr. Clarke can tell us all that is known, 
can you not?" asked Mr. Stevens. 

''There is very little known," replied Mr. 
Clarke. ''It is not known whether the buildings 
were temples or fortresses, and whether they 
were built by the Toltecs, a race that came before 
the Aztecs, or by some unknown race. One thing 
you will notice is that there are no curves or 
arches in the construction — all the corners and 
openings are right-angled and square-cornered, 
and that is a feature of the ruins known to be 
Toltec. On the other hand, the Toltecs usually 
built pyramids also, and there are no pyramids 
here." As he spoke, they came to the first 
building or court. They found, after they had 
finished their inspection that there had been four 
walled courts around an open central court or 
patio, facing exactly to the four points of the 
compass. 

The north court was less ruined than the others, 
and under the southern court was a subterranean 
passage. Ray hung back a little when the guide 
lighted a candle and, climbing down into an 
opening, requested them to follow him ; but seeing 



296 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

that all the others were going, she made up her 
mind that she would rather go than be left alone, 
so she followed the party with some misgivings. 
Once down in the passage, however, she did not 
find it so dark as she expected, and several times 
lingered behind the party to examine the pattern 
of the decoration on the walls. She wished she 
had a pencil and paper, just to put down a sug- 
gestion of the design, for she found no two pat- 
terns alike and she thought some of them would 
be lovely to do in braid or in stitching on her 
doll's clothes. 

''Come on, Eay," called Roy, "we're going to 
look at the visitors' book." 

The guide kept this in a corner where the 
passage made a turn, and requested them all to 
write their names in it. They looked back through 
the pages and found several quite celebrated 
names, and among others those of a whole party 
of Chinese. These had written some comments 
on the ruins which one of the party translated into 
English. They said the ruins were very much like 
certain temples in northern China and in their 
opinion had been built by the same race of people. 



MITLA 297 

''How did they ever get here?" asked Harry, 
wonderingly. 

"By Behring's Strait, I suppose," said Mr. 
Clarke. "Only the other day there were relics 
found in the State of Washington, which are said 
to be undoubtedly Aztec, showing that these early 
races have at least had communication with the 
northern coast." 

"What was this, I wonder," said Roy, as they 
came into a room larger than the others, with 
great columns nearly seven feet thick extending 
in a row down the middle. 

"They call it now the 'Hall of Monoliths,' " 
said Mr. Clarke, "but what the builders intended 
it for, we don 't know. These columns and the 
great door-caps are of one solid stone, each of the 
latter twelve to eighteen feet long, four to six feet 
wide, and three to five feet thick. No one knows 
how these great stones were lifted to their 
places." 

"Do you notice," said Mr. Stevens, "that all 
these stones are fitted together without any cement 
to hold them?" 

"Yes," said Mrs. Stevens, "and many of the 



298 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

pieces are very small, and yet they fit together 
like mosaics. They were wonderful builders, 
those people, whoever they were." 

'* Don't you suppose we shall ever find out?" 
said Roy. " If I began to study hieroglyphics and 
architecture and history now and kept on for 
years and years, do you suppose I could make the 
discovery?" 

"You might not make the discovery, but you 
would find out a great many other things," said 
Mr. Stevens. 

"I'd like to find out something nobody ever 
knew before," said Roy. 

' ' It might be worth trying, just for the pleasure 
of the study," said Mr. Clarke. 

"Let's do it together, Harry," said Roy. 

"All right," replied Harry; "I'll be right here 
on the spot and you'll be where you can get all 
the books and teachers." 

They were quite absorbed in their plans, when 
suddenly some one announced that it was raining. 

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Stevens, "we have 
no umbrellas. Can't we wait until the rain is 
over ? ' ' 



MITLA 299 

' ' That might be to-morrow morning, ' ' said Mr. 
Clarke, "but we can wait until some of those 
children can go and get our umbrellas. Just stay 
here under shelter until I send for them." 

He went in search of the little Indians, whom 
the guide had not allowed to come into the under- 
ground passages, and returned presently very 
much amused. ''That pretty little girl that fol- 
lowed us has gone for them," he said, "but she 
wouldn't do it until I promised faithfully to pay 
her. She wouldn't believe the guide, so I had to 
assure her that she would not lose anything by the 
service." 

It was some time before the umbrellas came, 
and in the meantime the boys and Ray wandered 
about the passages, examining what they could see 
of the walls. The guide had shown them a little 
scrap of picture-writing outside on a background 
of terra-cotta colour, and they thought that by 
careful looking they might find some more. When 
the party finally came out from underground, 
what with climbing up and raising their umbrellas 
and finding places to step — for the ground was 
already quite soft and it was raining hard — no- 



300 ROY AND RAY IN INIEXICO 

body, not even the guide, noticed that the party 
was not complete. He locked the gateway to the 
passage and the party had got some yards away, 
all hurrying, when the little Indian girl came run- 
ning after them with excited exclamations that 
none of them understood except the guide. He 
stopped suddenly, listening to her, turned and 
gave a quick review of the party who were still 
marching on, and suddenly set out on a run back 
to the ruins. At the same moment, Mrs. Stevens 
turned to her husband, who was behind her, ex- 
claiming, "Ray! where is Ray?" Everybody 
stopped short. 

"I was talking and I didn't notice she wasn't 
with us," said Mr. Stevens, already on his way 
back. 

"I thought she was behind with you," said 
Mrs, Stevens. 

Roy said nothing, but ran back after his father 
and the guide. In a moment, the guide appeared, 
carrying Ray, whom he set down upon the ground 
with a comforting pat on the shoulder and a fa- 
therly smile, for he had little girls of his own, and 
Mr. Stevens caught her up and gave her a hug. 



MITLA 801 

''How did it liappen, child? Were you fright- 
ened?" 

''Not much," said Ray, bravely, though she was 
rather pale. "I must have been in one of the 
other passages when you came out," she ex- 
plained, "and I was trying to copy something off 
the wall — see?" showing a design in pencil on a 
bit of paper she had borrowed from her father, 
"and suddenly I noticed how still it was, and I 
went back and you had all gone. At first, I didn't 
know what to do. It seemed so silly to shout for 
help when I knew you would soon miss me — and I 
knew there weren't any wild beasts or snakes in 
there — so I was just going to wait at the entrance, 
when I saw the little Indian girl and made signs 
to her." 

The whole party had come back and were 
listening to Ray's story, and they all compli- 
mented her on her self-control. 

"Some little girls would not have stopped to 
reason at all, but would have begun screaming and 
crying at the very idea of being left alone," said 
Mr. Clarke. 

"My sister isn't one of that kind," said Roy, 



302 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

proudly, and Ray was more pleased at this than 
at any other praise, for Roy did not often pay 
compliments. 

Very soon, the three children were laughing 
over the incident, and were planning to write a 
story called "The Prisoner of Mitla," of which 
Ray was to be the heroine. 

Even in so short a time, they found the tiny 
stream had risen and that they had to pick their 
way very carefully to keep from wetting their 
feet. When they reached one of the huts, the little 
Indian girl, who had been following them, came up 
to Mr. Clarke, demanding ''Mi pagaf" 

"Porquef" he inquired. She pointed to Ray, 
but had the grace to look a little ashamed as she 
met his scornful look. 

"What does she want?" asked Mr. Stevens. 

" To be paid for calling our attention to the loss 
of the little girl," said Mr. Clarke. "Don't give 
her anything — she ought to be ashamed." 

"Father, let me give her something?" said 
Ray; "I'd like to do it — not because she called 
you but because she was so excited and so anxious, 
you know. She was really sorry for me." 



MITLA 303 

So they waited in the rain and Ray got out her 
little knit purse and offered the Indian girl some 
money, but just as the child was about to take it 
some sense of shame overcame her and she turned 
and ran away. 

''I'll leave it with Don Felix for her," said Ray, 
quietly, "she'll have to take it if we're all gone." 

"Well, now we must get home as quickly as 
possible," said Mrs. Stevens, "and get on dry 
shoes, for I know these must be wet." 

Mr. Stevens paid the guide and engaged him 
for a little while the next morning, if it did not 
rain, to show them a few other ruins in the neigh- 
bourhood, and then they all hurried back to the 
hacienda, glad to get under shelter from the rain, 
which was now almost a pour. 



CHAPTER XXV 
MITLA CONTINUED 

"It seems, somehow, as if we ought to go to a 
fire to get dry," said Roy, as they sat in the 
gallery, waiting for dinner, and watched the rain 
pouring down into the patio. 

''But we aren't wet," said Ray. 

"No, I know we aren't really, but it seems as if 
everything were wet when you sit out of doors and 
see the rain come down like that." 

And truly in the rainy season, a heavy pour or a 
continuous drizzle of several days does make 
everything damp all through, so that Roy was 
partly right. 

"What I miss is a rocking-chair," confessed 
Mrs. Stevens. "It doesn't seem as if one could 
really rest in these stationary chairs. And, so 
far, we have had rocking-chairs at most of our 
hotels, so that I have not got used to doing without 
them. ' ' 

304 



MITLA CONTINUED 305 

"Well, we are very fortunate to have so com- 
fortable a place as this," said Mr. Clarke. "The 
house is as clean as wax, and you'll see that we 
shall get a good dinner, not at all Mexican. Don 
Felix seems to have learned the tastes of his 
visitors, who are very often Americans and 
English, and to know just what to give 
them. ' ' 

"They don't have to water these plants at all 
in the rainy season, do they?" asked Eoy. 

"Yes, almost as much. The water dries off or 
sinks in so quickly. You remember that at 
Cuernavaca everything was watered twice a 
day." 

"Then in the dry season I suppose they begin 
again as soon as they get around once, and just 
keep at it all the time, ' ' said Harry. 

"Might as well be a mill-wheel," said Roy. 

And very soon the two boys were telling each 
other how they would do things if they lived in 
Mexico and had the power. Eay began to yawn — 
she didn't care about the conversation and she 
thought it a long time until dinner. 

"Don't you want to see the kitchen, Ray?" 



306 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

asked Mr. Clarke. "I think they'll let us look in, 
and perhaps you haven't seen one of the Mexican 
ranges." 

' * Oh, yes ! ' ' answered Ray ; " I always meant to 
go at Cuernavaca, but I always forgot." 

Just then the mozo came by and Mr. Clarke 
asked if there would be any objection to their see- 
ing the kitchen. The mozo went to inquire and 
reported that they would be welcome, so the two 
followed him through a passage into a smaller 
patio surrounded by out-buildings where charcoal 
and other things were kept. 

Along one side of the second patio ran a gallery 
with the usual tiled floor, and out of this opened 
the kitchen. ''My, what a big room!" exclaimed 
Ray, as she peeped in. 

"Pasa! (Enter!)," said a stout, little woman 
who, they afterward found, was Senora Quero, and 
who was superintending the dinner. All around 
the walls hung utensils of copper, and on the floor 
stood jars and bowls of red pottery and baskets of 
various sizes. In the centre of the room, extend- 
ing out from one of the walls, was a clay construc- 
tion that proved to be the range. 




A Mexican Kitchen Range 



MITLA CONTINUED 307 

''Is that the kitchen-stove?" asked Ray, sur- 
prised. 

' ' That is the usual Mexican stove, ' ' replied Mr. 
Clarke. "Those holes you see all along the side 
are to give draught to the coals and also to allow 
the ashes to be taken out; and each of those pots 
you see on top stands on a grating covered with 
hot coals." 

"It seems like our ranges in everything that 
you have to have," said Ray, "though it looks so 
different. ' ' 

"Yes, the principles of fire-making are pretty 
much the same everywhere," said Mr. Clarke. 
"Judging from my sense of smell, this fire is 
doing some very good cooking." 

"It makes me hungry," said Ray, sniffing the 
pleasant odour, at which the cook and the senora 
both smiled, while the little girl who helped in the 
kitchen and whose eyes had never left Ray for a 
moment, laughed heartily, showing all her pretty, 
white teeth. 

Mr. Clarke thanked the senora and said it was 
evident there was a good dinner coming, and they 
found their way back to the others. At last, after 



308 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the patio had been lighted by two lamps with re- 
flectors, it was announced that dinner was served, 
and the party all filed into the comedor (co-may- 
dor'), or dining-room. This had a bare floor and 
nothing on the whitewashed walls, and with the 
table draped in spotless white and the mozo who 
waited all in white, it seemed fitting that the soup 
should be white, too. 

"What makes it so good I" asked Eoy. 

"I think it must have cheese in it," said Mr. 
Clarke. "The Mexicans make delicious cheeses, 
and they use them to flavour nearly every- 
thing. ' ' 

"Yes, it does taste like cheese," said Mrs. 
Stevens. 

"I could enjoy my soup more, if I weren't so 
anxious for my next course," confessed Harry, 
and they all admitted that they felt equally 
hungry, not to say greedy. The next course 
proved to be a beautifully poached egg apiece 
with rice cooked to perfection, every grain stand- 
ing by itself. Then came a good beefsteak with 
thinly sliced fried potatoes and a small dish of 
stewed fruit. After that, to the children's great 



MITLA CONTINUED 309 

joy and surprise, delicious little griddle-cakes 
with fresh, strained honey. Then fruit, and 
finally coffee and little sweet cakes. 

''A dinner fit for a king, for everything was 
cooked exactly right," said Mr. Stevens. 

''Yes, indeed," said Mrs. Stevens. ''I hope, 
Mr. Clarke, you will send our compliments to the 
cook, and tell her we haven't had as good a meal 
at any hotel in Mexico. ' ' 

''I'm wondering what we are going to do next," 
said Harry, as they rose from the table. 

' ' I brought a game along, ' ' said Ray. 

"And I brought a book," said Roy. 

"We men have our cigars to dispose of, while 
we talk business," said Mr. Clarke. 

"And I am going to write letters," announced 
Mrs. Stevens. 

"Yes, but where are we going to get the light 
for all this?" asked Harry. "There are only 
candles in our rooms." 

' ' Oh, I don't think we can go to our rooms now, ' ' 
said Mrs. Stevens; "that would be too unsocial. 
We'll ask the senorita to give us lamps on these 
two tables here in the gallery. It's not so damp 



310 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

but that we can sit here if we wrap up a 
little." 

So it was arranged. Mrs. Stevens was soon 
writing her letters under the light of a kerosene 
lamp, at one table, while the boys played their 
game at the other, and the two men sat in a corner 
and talked, not needing a light. Ray was tired 
and lay on a long seat by her mother's table, 
wrapped in a shawl, feeling very warm and com- 
fortable, listening partly to the voices of the 
others and partly to the splash, splash of the rain 
as it fell on the leaves of the plants or ran 
gurgling down the outlets provided at the corners 
and centre of the patio. She wished they had a 
piazza and a garden like these at home. When 
the others were ready to go to bed, they found 
her already fast asleep, soothed by the steady 
music of the rain. 

In the morning, they waked to find the rain 
over, though the sky was still grey. The roses, 
washed clean and fresh, were peeping in at the 
barred windows from the flower-garden behind 
the house, and all the party had slept so quietly 
and soundly after their drive that they came out 



MITLA CONTINUED 311 

of their rooms quite ready for another day's 
trip. 

*'We are going to have breakfast right here in 
the gallery," exclaimed Ray, and the children all 
rejoiced, for they loved to eat out of doors — it 
was so like a picnic. 

''I don't see why we don't eat out of doors 
more," said Mrs. Stevens. "I think we must do 
it of tener when we get back home. ' ' 

*'Our side porch is just right," said Eay, "and 
Katy can pass things to us out of the kitchen- 
window. Won 't that be fun ! ' ' 

As they sat down at the round table, the party 
all exclaimed with pleasure at the tiny buttonhole 
bouquet the mozo had put at each plate, with a 
pin for fastening it. 

"He certainly does things very prettily. Who 
would expect it in this far corner of the world?" 
said Mr. Stevens. 

"I think we shall even enjoy our breakfast more 
for this little attention," said Mrs. Stevens, and 
they all bowed and smiled as the mozo came for- 
ward to serve them. Again they had the little 
griddle-cakes with honey, and the children were 



312 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

helped a second time and were so enthusiastic 
over them that Mr. Stevens said he felt sure that 
when Mitla was mentioned thereafter the chil- 
dren's first thought would be of griddle-cakes 
instead of ruins. 

"Well, I think griddle-cakes are pleasanter to 
think of than ruins," said Eay. 

''You'd rather be shut up in a griddle-cake than 
in a ruin, anyway, wouldn't you, Ray I" suggested 
Roy. 

"Yes, I could eat my way out," laughed 
Ray. 

"That makes me think of a story," said Mr. 
Clarke. "A young minister who had once 
preached in the backwoods told me the only time 
he ever lost control of himself and actually 
laughed in the pulpit was in one of these back- 
woods churches. All the women had brought their 
children, even their babies, having no one to leave 
them with, and they had brought various eatables 
to keep the children busy and contented. One 
woman had carried some cold griddle-cakes, large 
ones. The minister rose to begin his sermon and 
was at first astonished and then very much 



MITLA CONTINUED 313 

amused to see her little boy lying on his back in 
the middle aisle, with a cake spread over his face. 
He had bitten out holes for his eyes and mouth, 
and was sticking his tongue out through the latter 
opening. Nobody was paying any attention to 
him and no one seemed to see anything funny in 
it except the poor, young minister, who had to 
control himself as best he could. ' ' 

*'I can just see that kid," said Harry, laughing. 

"We must try it when we get home," said Eoy. 
"These cakes are too little." 

"Where are we going this morning, father?" 
asked Ray. 

"Over to see the sepulchre," said Mr. Stevens. 
"We are to start back at ten, and we shall just 
have time to do it." 

"I'd like to see the ruins by morning light," 
said Harry, who had not forgotten the plan for 
making the great discovery. 

"Then you'll have to swim or ford the river, my 
boy," said his father. "That rain last night was 
enough to make a good-sized stream of our 
little creek. You'd better be content with the 
sepulchre." 



314 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

The party started at once after breakfast to 
find the excavation, which was discovered in 1894 
and which the Indians had used as a corn-bin. It 
proved to be not very large, only about eight by 
six feet, and below the level of the rest of the 
ground. What it had been originally no one 
knows, but because little images, probably of gods, 
had been found there, it was supposed to have 
been a place of burial. 

"This whole valley is full of ruins, less perfect 
however than those we have seen," said Mr. 
Clarke. ''There are other temples — if temples 
they were — and pyramids, and the modern church 
over there which is now being repaired and ex- 
tended stands on the site of one of the old temples 
and is built in part of the temple material. In the 
building at the back is some of that terra-cotta 
coloured background that we found in the ruins 
yesterday. ' ' 

Just here, some Indian children came up, 
offering for sale little relics found in the sepul- 
chre, clay heads of idols, more or less distinct in 
form. Among them was the little messenger 
of the day before, and Ray saw her opportunity. 



MITLA CONTINUED 315 

''I'll buy a relic of her, shan't I, mother 1" she 

asked. 

"Yes, if you wish." 

"You can't carry it out of Mexico," warned 
Harry; "the law doesn't allow it." 

Eay hesitated, then said suddenly, "Well, I 
can do something else with it," and she pressed 
some money into the little girl's hand, smiling as 
she did so, and took the funny little clay head in 
return. That night, Mr. Clarke, at his hotel, felt 
something in his coat-pocket when he made ready 
for bed, and, investigating, found Eay's idol. So 
that it did not go out of Mexico. 

The morning excursion was soon over, and while 
the horses and mules were being harnessed under 
the big ahuehuetl in front of the hacienda, the 
elders of the party talked with Don Felix and the 
senora. When the latter found that the Stevenses 
had come from New York, she asked if that was not 
in the United States, and on hearing that it was, 
suggested to her husband that they might know 
" Juanita (Wa-nee'-ta) in California." The senor 
thought it might be worth while to ask, and was 
disappointed to find that none of the family had 



316 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ever been to California and that it was a long, 
long way from New York. The boys were a little 
disposed to laugh at this simplicity, but the elders 
thought it quite charming. 

''But you wouldn't like me not to know 
any more than that," said Roy to his 
mother. 

"About the United States, no; for that is your 
own country. But I should hardly expect you to 
know the distance from El Paso to Campeche 
( Cam-pay '-chay), or from Tehuantepec (Tay- 
huan'-te-pec) to Manzanillo (Man-za-nee'-yo) — do 
you?" 

"No," confessed Roy; "they may be next door 
to each other, for all I know." 

"I daresay Don Felix knows," said Mrs. 
Stevens quietly, and Roy saw the point. 

The departure was at last made, with hand- 
shaking and compliments and cordial smiles all 
around, even the children venturing to say " Adios 
(Ah-dee-os': Good-bye)." Then with much whip- 
cracking and much shouting of " Andele! (An- 
day-lay) ' ' to the mules, the journey back to Oaxaca 
began, the pleasanter for the heavy rain which 




iu 



MITLA CONTINUED 31^ 

had laid the dust and softened the roads, except 
where it had washed all the soil off the rocks. 
These the children called bumping-places, and 
Ray as before began to "rise in the world." It 
was nearly four in the afternoon when they again 
found themselves in Oaxaca, quite ready for a 
bath and a nap. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
THE RETURN JOURNEY 

The whole party travelled north together as far 
as Tehuacan, Mr. Clarke going on alone from 
there while Harry, much to the children's delight, 
was allowed to stay with the Stevenses and go on 
with them to Orizaba. 

To do this, they were obliged to stay in Tehua- 
can over night, and went out to the new hotel 
which was becoming famous for its baths. As 
they had to get back to the town in time for the 
train at half-past seven the next morning, they 
had only time to see that the town was pretty and 
looked flourishing. It had no especial history, but 
they learned that the mineral waters there had 
been known by the Indians for many years and 
had been used by them to cure various diseases 
long before the white men had found them. 

In the morning, after a hasty breakfast and a 

318 



THE RETURN JOURNEY 319 

chilly ride in an open tram to the town, thej^ 
took their seats in the first-class compartment of 
the tram going to Esperanza, where they were to 
connect with the train for Orizaba. There were 
three cars going in a group, two good-sized trams 
with first- and second-class compartments, ar- 
ranged very much like the cars on European 
trains, with the doors at the sides and the two 
seats facing each other, but without a sign of 
upholstery, not even a cushion. Then there was 
a little car for third-class passengers, which ran 
behind the others, keeping close to them for safety. 

''These seats are pretty hard for a four-hour 
ride," said Mrs. Stevens. "It's fortunate that I 
have my big shawl where we can get at it easily, 
for we can use that for a cushion." 

"There's our rural!" exclaimed Harry; "the 
man in the grey uniform with the cartridge-belt 
and the holsters ; he will ride with us and there 's 
another one for the car ahead of us." 

' ' Do you suppose anything will happen to us ? " 
asked Ray, a little frightened. 

"No, indeed; but you see this road runs through 
a rather uninhabited country, and many people 



320 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

would not use the tram-line unless it were made to 
look safe. The second-class compartment is full 
and there are several women and girls without 
any man to look after them, ' ' replied Harry. 

As he spoke, the door opened and a Mexican 
gentleman of middle age got in, with a general 
''Buenos dias (Bway'-nos dee'-as: Good-day)." 
He was dressed in white duck, with a fine silk 
handkerchief around his neck and a handsome 
diamond ring on his finger. His hair was very 
grey, and he had a nice, friendly face with a pair 
of twinkling eyes that had plenty of fun in them. 
His son, a young fellow of twenty, had come to 
see him off for Vera Cruz, and to help him carry 
his packages. These consisted of several Mexican 
baskets of different shapes, full of things done up 
in paper, two bottles of wine, and a large valise. 
It took a long time to get the things safely stowed 
away and they took up all the room under the 
seats not already taken by the Stevenses' bags. 
When the first horn blew for starting, the young 
fellow climbed up on the step and he and his 
father threw their arms about each other, patted 
each other on the back, and kissed each other on 



THE RETURN JOURNEY 321 

both cheeks. Eay and her mother thought it very 
pretty, but the boys turned away to hide a smile. 
They thought it very poor taste for men to show 
their feelings in public. 

''I dare say he's coming back in two or three 
days," said Harry. ^'Wliat's the use of making 
all that fuss? It's one of the things I can't get 
used to here." 

^'But he might never come back," said Ray, 
''and then, you see, his son would be glad they 
showed each other how much they cared." 

''Well, you can care without going through all 
that business," said Eoy, contemptuously; "it 
isn't like me7i." 

"It isn't like American men, you mean," said 
his mother. "Remember that American men 
form only a small proportion of all the civilised 
men in the world. Nearly all other men — except 
the British — show their affection for one another, 
and I must say I like it. ' ' 

"Do i/ou, father?" asked Ray. 

The boys were quite surprised when Mr. Stevens 
said that he did, for they had certainly expected 
him to take their view. 



322 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''They may not feel any more than we do," 
said Mr. Stevens, "but it does not mean that they 
feel less, and it certainly smooths things very 
much to let your friends and family know oc- 
casionally that you do think of them affection- 
ately; and between father and son, especially 
when the father is growing old, I think it is really 
very nice to see some demonstration of feeling." 

''Well, father," said Roy, "when I see you 
growing old, I'll begin to hug and kiss you and 
pat you on the back. ' ' 

"Very well," said Mr. Stevens, laughing; "I'll 
wait patiently." 

"It'll be a long time," said Ray, "so I'll do it 
now," and she gave her father a big squeeze, 
which made the Mexican gentleman smile. He 
could speak a little English, too, it seemed, for he 
said, "Good, very good!" 

The car started, at last, with the Mexican 
gentleman at the window, looking back and waving 
his hand as long as he could see his son. 

The rural had taken his position on the back 
platform and the long ride began. There was 
nothing in the scenery that was particularly in- 



THE RETURN JOURNEY 323 

teresting, though when they stopped at the few 
little towns along the way, it was entertaining to 
see people get in and out. At one place, the rural 
stood in the sunshine and Mrs. Stevens asked to 
be allowed to take his picture, whereupon he im- 
mediately went to get the other rural and they 
stood together, looking very picturesque, but un- 
fortunately all in vain as the picture did not come 
out well. It was nearly noon when they reached 
Esperanza, a very important point at that time of 
day, as the trains between Vera Cruz and the city 
of Mexico meet there and wait a half -hour for the 
passengers to eat luncheon or dinner. The Mexi- 
can gentleman explained all this to them and con- 
ducted them to the dining-room of the station, but 
did not go in himself, and they found afterward 
that his many baskets contained food for the 
meals between Tehuacan and Vera Cruz. While 
they were eating at rather than eating the some- 
what coarse food provided at the station, the train 
from Vera Cruz arrived, and the room was at once 
filled with the most motley collection of human 
beings they had ever seen in one place. Indians 
and Mexicans and Spanish, Germans and English, 



324 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

French and Swiss, Canes and Austrians and 
Swedes, with some negroes and Chinamen — it 
seemed as if almost every race and nationality 
were represented. Foreign languages filled the 
air. 

''If they were only piling bricks instead of eat- 
ing frijoles, it would be just like the Tower of 
Babel," said Harry. 

"I never imagined," said Mrs. Stevens, "that 
immigration into Mexico was so varied." 

"Probably we have just as many kinds coming 
to us," said Mr. Stevens, "but as we have steam- 
ship lines coming from all countries, the emi- 
grants come on their own national lines and the 
different nationalities do not get together so much 
as they do here. Besides, there are so many trains 
going out from our ports in every direction and 
so many emigrants stop in New York or near 
there, that we do not see whole trainloads of 
foreigners as we do here, where there are only 
two or three trains a day and where the port re- 
tains very few of the people who land. ' ' 

"There is our train!" exclaimed Harry, as a 
train drew up at the station, headed toward the 



THE RETURN JOURNEY 325 

coast. Another lot of hungry passengers now 
entered the room, adding to the confusion, and the 
Stevens party thought best to go out and take 
their seats. 

"Take seats on the right-hand side," said Mr. 
Stevens; ''that is the scenery side going east, and 
you know this bit of the road between Esperanza 
and Orizaba is one of the choice rides of the 
country for scenery." 

He spoke truly, for the person least sensitive to 
natural beauty could not help being enthusiastic 
over the wonderful views among the mountains 
and valleys of this stretch of road. The railway 
curves in and out around the slopes of the moun- 
tains, through tunnels and over heights, gradu- 
ally descending from a height of over eight 
thousand feet to not quite four thousand feet in 
only twenty-nine miles. The children craned their 
necks out of the windows and gazed in amazement 
at the steep precipices along which the train 
rolled, looking at the track they had just travelled 
away behind and above them and at the track they 
were coming to, curving down below them into the 
valley. It seemed incredible that they could ever 



326 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

have been in the one place and that they could 
ever expect to be in the other. The train stopped 
at La Boca, to take on water, and the party all got 
out to take a better view from their narrow ledge 
of the great mountains and of the stream that 
cascaded down the mountain side for over a 
thousand feet. If they could have stood outside 
and seen their train crossing some of the bridges 
at these dizzy heights, they would certainly have 
felt a little uneasy. But the place at which the 
boys and Ray grew most enthusiastic was farther 
on, at the point where they could look down and 
see, away below them in the valley, the town of 
Maltrata, looking like a toy village with its dots of 
red roofs, tiny trees, and little fields and gardens 
like squares on a toy checkerboard. It was fully 
two thousand feet below them and lay spread out 
like a map. They thought the name of the valley, 
La Joya (Hoy'-a), the jewel, was well given. 

After this, they crossed a bridge a hundred and 
forty feet high, over a chasm through which a 
great cascade went leaping down, and finally came 
out into the valley, with green fields on either side 
and the mountains surrounding them and shutting 



THE RETURN JOURNEY 32T 

off any far view. The great peak of Orizaba, 
nearly eighteen thousand feet high, with its 
shining cap of snow, was fortunately visible when 
the train stopped, but soon after it was lost to 
sight as the daily rain grew nearer. Indeed, the 
party had just time to get to their hotel before the 
rain came. Fortunately, it did not last long and 
there was time for a short walk about the streets 
before dinner, but their real sightseeing they 
were obliged to leave until the next day. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
ORIZABA AND BACK TO THE CAPITAL 

In the morning, the party took a long walk in 
and ont among the streets and squares of Orizaba, 
a beautiful town in a beautiful situation. Unlike 
Cuernavaca, where one could look oif for long 
distances, the town was hemmed in closely by 
mountains, but these in themselves were magnifi- 
cent. It was not so high as most of the places 
they had visited, being only a little over four 
thousand feet above sea-level, but it was high 
enough to be healthful and is often resorted to by 
the people of the coast in times of fever. Many 
foreigners, landing at Vera Cruz, do not like to 
stop there over night and so go up to Orizaba at 
once, in order to be perfectly safe. 

The hotels seemed to be nearly all on the main 
street, so that the street-cars drawn by mules 
could take passengers to any of them. There 

328 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 329 

were a few coaches in town to be hired, but they 
were in a dreadful state of dilapidation and 
looked as if they might date from Maximilian's 
time. 

The town itself, owing doubtless to its being on 
the line between Vera Cruz and the Capital, and a 
favourite stopping-place for people from other 
countries, seemed much less Mexican and much 
more European than either Cuernavaca or 
Oaxaca. The people had no distinctive costume 
and there were fewer peons in the street, while 
some of the shops were very up-to-date, and many 
of the houses, which one could look into through 
the iron-barred windows as one went along, were 
elegantly furnished in an entirely modern way. 
In the public square there was a monument to the 
killed and wounded in the Mexican War, and 
another representing Father Hidalgo pronouncing 
the Grito. 

At the Cathedral, which was on a slight eleva- 
tion above the Plaza, the children watched with 
interest a band of women who were going together 
from one altar to another, kneeling to pray aloud 
at each one. They wore a set of narrow ribbons, 



330 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

red, white and green, around their necks, tied at 
the back, and were evidently members of some 
society. But the thing that arrested their atten- 
tion next and held it for a long time was a very 
curious image of St. Michael. 

*'Do you suppose he looked like that when he 
went out to slay the dragon?" whispered Harry, 
laughing. 

"He is very much dressed up in Guido Reni's 
painting," said Mrs. Stevens, "but that is nothing 
compared to this." And truly, that any one 
could have such a conception of the saint was 
wonderful. 

The figure was apparently of wood, about two- 
thirds life size. The head was adorned with long, 
brown, very symmetrical curls, topped by a tinsel 
crown from which floated several blue ostrich 
plumes. The dress of red silk, white lace, and gilt, 
was made like that of a ballet-dancer, low-necked, 
with elbow sleeves, the skirts flounced and rosetted 
with lace and ribbon. The legs from the knee 
halfway down were bare, showing the muscles of 
knee and calf, and below to a point over the instep 
were dressed in a sort of silk buskin trimmed 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 331 

with lace, imitating those in the painting. One 
braceleted arm was extended while with the other 
hand the figure presented mincingly a pink 
rose. 

''But look here!" exclaimed Mrs. Stevens, 
pointing to a small box in front of the figure, with 
a slit for coins. '' 'Alms for St. Michael!' Did 
you ever see anything so incongruous!" 

"Looks to me as if he were pretty well off 
already, ' ' said Roy. 

"I'd give him something if I thought he would 
take off his hoops and buy some goods to lengthen 
his skirts, ' ' said Ray. 

"I suppose the country people admire him ever 
so much," said Harry, "but what do they think he 
needs money for?" 

"Well, he's very much more cheerful than most 
of the images we have seen. We may be thankful 
for that, anyhow," remarked Mr. Stevens; "I feel 
like giving him something just for that." 

"Yes, these bleeding, suffering images are 
dreadful— I suppose it's the Spanish blood in the 
people that makes them like that sort of repre- 
sentation," said Mrs. Stevens. 



332 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

*'And the Spaniards are very fond of dressing 
up their saints in gaudy and expensive clothes, 
too, aren't they I" suggested Harry. 

''Yes, some of them are fairly loaded with gold 
and silver lace and tissue and embroidery," re- 
plied Mrs. Stevens. 

From the Cathedral, they visited the market- 
place, where the products were rather more 
tropical than in some others they had visited ; but 
the best part of their sightseeing was the trip to 
one of the numerous cascades, the road lying be- 
tween coffee-groves, which almost surround the 
town. 

"I think coffee is as pretty as holly when it is 
growing," said Kay, and they all agreed with 
her. It looked very much like holly, in fact, with 
its stiff, glossy, dark green, spiny leaves, and its 
berries, first green, then red, then dark brown. 

"Guess how many coffee-grains in a berry," 
said Harry. 

"Why, one, isn't that all?" asked Roy. 

"No, two. See here," and Harry split open a 
berry and showed them the two grains lying with 
the flat sides touching and the little groove through 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 333 

the middle that they had often noticed in the 
grocer's coffee at home. 

"What's the reason their coffee doesn't taste 
like onrs!" asked Eay. 

''One reason is that they powder it, while we 
grind it; and another, that they like it a little bit 
burned and we don't have it so. It tastes some- 
what like Turkish coffee, which is almost a 
syrup," said Mrs. Stevens, adding, "Of course, I 
mean the black coffee, without milk." 
''Is Orizaba old, too?" asked Eoy. 
"Yes, it was here before the Spanish came. It 
was the scene of some fighting in the war against 
the French, and it was one of the favourite resorts 
of Maximilian," replied his father. 

"Poor man! I get sorrier for him all the 
time," said Ray. "To lose such a beautiful 
country when he once had it, and have to be killed 
besides and never see his own country again." 

"The French troops offered to take him back 
with them, but he wouldn't go," said Mr. Stevens. 

• "Why?" 

"Well, a number of his prominent supporters 
had been taken prisoners by the native army and 



334 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

he could not get the promise of Juarez to pardon 
them, so he would not desert them. He thought 
he ought to stay on the chance of being able to do 
something for them, and if he could not, that he 
ought to suifer with them." 

''There was really something noble about him, 
wasn't there?" said Roy. 

"Yes, he was deceived, and almost as much a 
victim of Louis Napoleon as the natives them- 
selves. ' ' 

It was with a great deal of regret that the party 
left Orizaba on their return journey, not because 
there was so much to see as in some other towns, 
but because it was such a beautiful place to rest in. 

They found themselves travelling with a great 
many people who were coming up from the 
steamers at Vera Cruz and going to the Capital, 
and after they had been some time in their car 
and heard a number of conversations going on, 
they estimated that there were eight or nine 
nationalities represented in that one car, not to 
speak of the rest of the train. The men all 
smoked, many of them incessantly, for one may 
smoke anywhere in Mexico except in church or in 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 335 

the theatre during the acts, and they all talked as 
incessantly as they smoked. After they had 
crossed the mountains and were in the low foot- 
hills, the train stopped in an uninhahited place 
without any apparent reason. The party won- 
dered idly what could be the cause, and finally 
Harry and Roy went out to see. They came back 
in a few minutes looking so pale and subdued 
that Mrs. Stevens immediately asked what had 

happened. 

"We've just seen three men shot— three 

Indians," said Harry. 

''Shot? Was the train attacked?" asked Mr. 

Stevens. 

"Oh, father!" exclaimed Ray, beginning to 

tremble. 

"Be still, Ray. Tell us about it, Harry, if you 
can. I remember now hearing something that 
sounded like shots. How was it T ' 

"We've had them on the train with us all 
along," said Harry; "it seems three Indians 
tried to derail a train here on this spot some weeks 
ago and the rurales have been looking for them 
ever since. They caught them yesterday, and one 



336 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

confessed and they had all the evidence they 
needed that the others were his accomplices, so, 
according to the usual practice, the soldiers 
brought them to the spot where they committed 
the crime and executed them there, so that they 
would know what they were being punished for." 

"Had they not been tried! "asked Mrs. Stevens, 
somewhat disapprovingly. 

''By the soldiers, yes, but not in court. It was 
unnecessary, since their guilt was confessed and 
proven. ' ' 

"Did they succeed in derailing a train?" asked 
Mr. Stevens. 

"Yes, a freight train happened along next, but 
it might have been a passenger train and many 
people might have been killed. The men — one of 
them, at least — had some grievance against the 
railroad and took this way to get even. ' ' 

"I suppose they would not understand a trial 
in court," said Mr. Stevens. 

"No, and if it dragged on a long time they 
would forget what it was all about, probably. 
They took it pretty well, didn't they, Roy?" 

"Yes," said Roy; "they didn't make any fuss at 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 337 

all, and the soldiers did not treat them harshly 
either. They just led them to the place where 
they were to stand and guarded them there, while 
the other soldiers did the firing from the train. 
They were killed instantly, and fell. There was a 
doctor who went and examined them, and then the 
bodies were put on a freight-car and left with a 
guard for the next train down to carry them back 
to their own place." 

"Well, really," said Mrs. Stevens, "if one stops 
to think, they have the most sensible way of 
punishing, if life is to be taken at all." 

"Have you noticed the way they manage con- 
victs here!" asked Harry. 

"Was it convicts we used to see at Cuernavaca, 
marching through the streets every day with the 
soldiers?" asked Eay. 

"Yes, those were convicts from the state's 
prison. You know Cuernavaca is the state capital 
and they were working on the new park the town 
is laying out. Every man has a soldier to guard 
him. ' ' 

"That is why they have no handcuffs, or ball 
and chain on the legs, then, ' ' said Eoy. 



338 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

"Yes, that is why I thought they could not be 
convicts," said Ray, 

"They never handcuff them here," said Harry, 
"but each man has his keeper among the soldiers, 
and if the man tries to escape the keeper has his 
gun in plain sight, ready for use." 

* ' Seems to me it 's harder on the soldier than on 
the convict, to have to sit all day in the sun with 
nothing to do but keep your eye on one man, ' ' said 
Roy. 

"They rig up little tents of those grass mats, 
for shade," said Harry, "and it's cool and 
pleasant up on the hills. But, of course, they can 
never think of anything but the one thing they 
have to do." 

"One evening," said Ray, "when they were 
coming back to the prison, I saw some children 
run out from one of the houses and kiss one of 
the men — I suppose he was their father. The 
guards didn't seem to mind, because they had all 
halted anyhow, to rest." 

' ' The soldiers are very humane, as a rule, ' ' said 
Harry, ' ' and the town police are generally pretty 
good to the people." 



BACK TO THE CAPITAL 339 

"That reminds me," said Mrs. Stevens, ''of 
something I saw in Cuernavaca, one day. Two 
women met under my balcony, a young one and a 
middle-aged one, and spoke together in a low tone 
for a half-minute. And suddenly the older one 
brought down the jar she was carrying, with all 
her force, on the other one's head, breaking the 
jar to bits. Then she slapped her across the face 
with the palm of her hand, and the other one stood 
still and took it without a word, though it must 
have hurt her dreadfully. I expected to see a 
crowd gather and the police come running up with 
their clubs, but only a solitary officer came slowly 
up and spoke a few words in a low voice, after the 
woman had made her explanation, and ordered 
them to move on. They separated, and none of 
the people who saw it paid any attention." 

''They were mother and daughter, probably," 
said Harry, "The parents have the right to cor- 
rect their children even after they are grown, and 
I suppose the girl had been doing something her 
mother didn't approve of." 

"Imagine your doing that to me, mother, even 
now when I am not grown up," said Ray, shaking 



340 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

her head. ''I like American mothers' ways the 
best." 

The train had begun to move, and the pas- 
sengers, most of whom had gone out to see the 
execution or to hear about it, came back to their 
seats. The boys were very quiet — it had been a 
serious experience for them, and they did not re- 
cover their spirits until they had nearly reached 
the Capital. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
NORTHWARD TO GUANAJUATO 

The City of Mexico seemed very familiar as 
they came into it for the second time and recog- 
nised various landmarks. As for Harry, though 
he had had a very delightful trip, he was glad to 
be at home again, for so much of his life had been 
spent there that no place in the United States 
would have seemed to him as much like home as 
this foreign city. His mother met the train and 
he parted from the Stevenses with many promises 
to exchange letters with the children. He was not 
likely to see them again, for they were to start on 
their journey north the next day but one. 

''Now, we have a friend in Mexico!" said Ray, 

with great satisfaction, as they rode to the hotel, 

' ' and we '11 be getting letters with Mexican stamps 

on them. You can do a lot of trading with them, 

Roy, for your stamp collection." 

"Yes, we've made arrangements to exchange 

341 



342 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

duplicates, too," said Roy. "Harry's father gets 
all kinds of South American and Central Ameri- 
can stamps and he's going to send me some for 
my European duplicates." 

The next day was spent in packing for the long 
northern journey with only two stops, at Guana- 
juato (Gwan-a-wah'-to) and Chihuahua. The 
family haunted the curio shops, buying photo- 
graphs and all sorts of Mexican souvenirs, "be- 
cause," said Ray, "the girls won't believe some 
of the things I tell them unless I have something 
to show to prove it. ' ' She was buying a little clay 
model of the cooking-stove used by the peons, as 
she spoke. 

"Besides," said Roy, "it will make things much 
easier for you to explain." 

The train for the United States in which they 
had decided to go, left the city early in the morn- 
ing, as usual, and their first stop was to be at 
Silao, where they were to take a branch road for 
Marfil, and there a mule-tram with four mules, for 
Guanajuato. 

"It seems a very hard place to get to," said 
Roy. "What makes it important?" 



NORTHWARD TO GUANAJUATO 343 

"We are going tliere because it is so very pic- 
turesque and unusual," said Mr. Stevens, "but 
the importance of the town lies in the fact that it 
is in one of the richest silver-mining districts in 
the world and that there are very extensive works 
for the reducing of silver — taking it from the ores 
— ^between Marfil and Guanajuato. The mines 
were discovered in 1548 by two muleteers, and up , 
to this time over one thousand million dollars' 
worth of ore have been taken from them. The 
Mint is one of the most important in Mexico." 

' ' Shall we go to it T ' asked Ray. 

"Yes, if we have time. I understand that one 
could stay for a week or ten days in Guanajuato 
without exhausting the interests of the place, and 
as we have only two days we shall have to make 
pretty good use of our time." 

The road they were travelling ran through 
several very interesting places — that is, they 
looked so from a distance, for the towns were 
usually at some distance from the stations. First, 
there was the great Tajo de Nochistongo (Ta'-ho 
day No-chis-ton'-go), the drainage canal begun in 
1607 to drain the Valley of Mexico, and abandoned 



344 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

after years of work and much expense. Fifteen 
thousand Indians were employed on this work, in 
its early days. It is from a hundred and fifty to 
two hundred feet deep and ranges in width from 
three hundred to seven hundred feet at the top, 
and slopes to a very few feet at the bottom, to 
prevent the caving-in of the sides. The waters of 
the valley were finally carried off by a tunnel to 
the eastward of the city. "It looks now just like 
a big, natural barranca," said Eoy. 

The town of Queretaro the children watched 
for eagerly, knowing that it was the town where 
Maximilian and his generals were imprisoned and 
executed. They could see only at a distance the 
domes and spires of the town, among the green of 
the orange- and lemon-trees, but the conductor 
pointed out to them the low hill, called the Hill of 
the Bells, where the execution took place. 

"There is a pretty story of the founding of 
the Church of Santa Cruz (the Holy Cross), at 
Queretaro," said Mrs. Stevens, as the train moved 
away from the station. "It seems that a great 
chief came, determined to convert the Indians to 
Christianity, the matter to be decided by fighting. 



NORTHWARD TO GUANAJUATO 345 

If he won, the people were to declare themselves 
converted and were to be baptised; if they won, 
they were to be at liberty to remain heathen. 
While the battle was going on, however, the sky 
was overshadowed by clouds and in the midst 
appeared Saint lago with a cross of fire. This 
miracle at once decided the Indians to yield, and 
the Church of the Holy Cross was afterward built 
in memory of it." 

''How many miracles they had in those days!" 
said Ray. ''Almost every town has some story. 
It makes the United States seem very bare." 

"Bare? What do you mean by that?" asked 
Roy. 

"Why—" hesitated Ray — "just bare— with- 
out any pretty things to make the history in- 
teresting. ' ' 

"Just 'dry so,' as they say in Texas, eh I" 
suggested Mr. Stevens. 

"Yes," said Ray. "Of course, we know they 
aren't true, but all the same it's nice to hear them 
and to think there are still some people that be- 
lieve them." 

Just here, a fellow-passenger came to show 



346 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

tliem some opals lie had bought at the station, and 
they all put their heads together to examine the 
beautiful, little stones in which fiery and milky 
lights mingle with pale blue and green to make 
one of the most fascinating gems we have. 

At Celaya (Ce-lah'-ya), Mr. Stevens bought a 
box of the dulces (sweet-meats) for which the 
place is celebrated, and at Irapuato (Ee-ra-pwah'- 
to) a basket of the famous strawberries which are 
produced there all the year around. They were 
very glad they had not paid the price first de- 
manded for these, when they came to examine the 
basket and found that the best berries were 
ranged on top, while below they were much 
smaller and poorer. 

It was almost dark when they reached Silao, 
where they were to take the train for Marfil, but- 
there was enough light to see that they were 
riding through a very hilly and picturesque coun- 
try. When they had finished this little eleven-mile 
journey, they found several trams awaiting them, 
labelled first-, second-, and third-class, and each 
drawn by four mules. The car they entered was 
nearly full of Mexicans of the better class, but 



NORTHWARD TO GUANAJUATO 347 

there were two or three young Americans who 
were in business connected with the mines or the 
railway, and Mr, Stevens soon entered into con- 
versation with them. 

Meanwhile, the children's eyes grew bigger and 
rounder as the cars climbed the hills and they saw 
the lights of houses twinkling above them on 
every side at what seemed impossible heights. 
They could hardly wait until daylight to find out 
just what sort of place they were in. A boy from 
the hotel boarded the car when they reached the 
limits of the city, and took charge of their bag- 
gage; and his smiling welcome quite cheered up 
Mrs. Stevens, who thought they were getting into 
a very remote and foreign and desolate district, 
where they might all be robbed and possibly put 
out of the way entirely. 

The car stopped in the Plaza, which was rather 
dimly lighted and where they could just see 
vaguely the outlines of the opera-house and other 
surrounding buildings, and a few steps brought 
them to the street on which their hotel was situ- 
ated. It seemed like a tunnel, for it was vaulted 
over the whole length of the block, and the one or 



348 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

two lamps suspended at the sides served only to 
"make the darkness visible." There seemed to 
be no ground-floor to the hotel at all, and a short 
flight of winding steps brought them to the office, 
which was a little cubby-hole off the dining-room, 
while the bedrooms, on the same floor, were 
ranged around a square patio. The ceilings 
were so high in proportion to the size of the 
rooms that it was like living in a tower, the chil- 
dren thought. 

Supper was over, but the young man who had 
brought them found some bread and butter and 
cold meat, cake and tea, to satisfy their hunger, 
and after they had paid due attention to their 
appetites they went to their rooms. The children 
had adjoining rooms opening upon the same 
balcony, and before going to bed they opened the 
long door-like windows and stepped out to look at 
the street and to hear a guitar serenade that was 
going on near by. A building nearly opposite was 
lighted up, for it was not yet nine o 'clock, and they 
could see that there were maps and charts on the 
walls, a globe in one corner, and that the furniture 
consisted of desks at which men seemed to be at 



NORTHWARD TO GUANAJUATO 349 

work. Presently, at some nnknown signal, the 
men all disappeared, the lights went ont, and in a 
moment more men and young boys wrapped in 
serapes tnrned the corner and separated, going 
off by different ways, in groups or alone, all very 
quietly. 

"Do you suppose it was a secret meeting? Are 
they conspirators?" whispered Ray, as a solitary 
figure passed under the balcony. 

"Looks cjueer, doesn't it!" said Roy; "but they 
can't be conspirators, because they would have 
had the blinds down. The room looks like a 
schoolroom. ' ' 

And in the morning they found that it was a 
schoolroom, and that in the evening the school 
was for men and boys who had to earn their living 
during the day. 

"I suppose they're too tired to make a noise, 
by the time they have worked all day and studied 
all the evening," said Ray, "but that isn't the 
way they come out of school in our country. ' ' 



CHAPTER XXIX 

GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 

When the family came to breakfast tlie next 
morning, tliey came convinced that they were 
going to like Guanajuato and find it most inter- 
esting, for they had caught glimpses of the high 
hills on which the native houses were perched like 
birdhouses, with winding steps ascending in every 
direction. Some streets, in fact, were all steps, 
and the small houses often could not find a level 
spot to stand on and so accommodated themselves 
to the incline of the hills. Mr. Stevens' plan was 
to go to the Plaza around the corner of the hotel 
and take the tram that went up to the top of the 
town, the Presa de la 011a (Pray'-sa day la Oy'-ya) 
or reservoir. They were assured that in this way 
they would see the best residences and get the 
best general view of the situation of the town. 
The Plaza, or Jardm de la Union (Har-deen' day 
la Oo-nion') was the starting-place of the only two 

350 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 351 

car-lines, the one going back to Marfil and the 
other going up to the Alameda and the Presa. 
Each car had four mules for the ascent on account 
of the hard grade. The people who went up to 
the Alameda were, as a rule, of the better class of 
citizens who either lived or had business to trans- 
act in the best quarter. The party did not do 
much talking on the way up, except to exclaim 
occasionally, ' ' Oh, what a lovely cottage ! " * ^ See 
that beautiful bougainvillea climbing all over that 
house!" "Look at that little house with a moat 
and a bridge!" "See, Roy, you could fish right 
out of the window if you lived there!" "What a 
beautiful garden!" "Oh, mother, wouldn't you 
like to live in that great, handsome house with all 
those verandahs and flowers!" Their eyes were 
fully occupied all the way and by the time they 
reached the little park where the band was 
accustomed to play in the evening, the children 
had decided that they would not mind at all 
having to live in Guanajuato. 

"It's the prettiest town we have seen yet," said 
Ray, positively, 

' ' Prettier than Cuernavaca ? ' ' asked her mother. 



352 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Well, no, nothing could be prettier than Cuer- 
navaca, but it's more — more — what is the word I 
want ? ' ' 

"More picturesque, perhaps — more unusual." 

'Yes, that's it. It would make better pictures. 
I saw a lady making pictures as we came up the 
hill." 

' ' Yes, so did I, ' ' said Roy ; " I think she 's stay- 
ing at our hotel. She had a whole crowd of chil- 
dren around her and some grown people." 

"We must meet her and find out what she is 
painting," said Mrs. Stevens. "Perhaps she has 
something we can take home with us to remember 
the place by." 

"Yes, and show the others what it looks like 
here, because I don't see how we could tell any- 
body," said Roy. 

At the Alameda, the car stopped and the family 
got out and walked through the long, narrow 
garden that occupied the middle of the street and 
that was full of trees and vines and fountains, 
with seats here and there. They climbed a little 
further to the reservoir, which was really like a 
small lake^ with pretty cottages on its margin, and 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 353 

from there they had a wonderful view of the town 
and surrounding country. Great hills surround 
the town, and as it has grown it has stretched up 
the clefts of these hills in every direction, like a 
vine throwing out branches and clutching for sup- 
port on all sides. The walk downhill was full of 
little incidents — beautiful Mexican ladies chatting 
and examining the condition of their flowers, a 
little beggar girl with her dog crouching in the 
corner of one of the picturesque gateways; the 
tiny houses which were also shops, opened on 
the street, sometimes a step or two below it, where 
shoemakers and other workmen carried on their 
work in the doorway in order to get the necessary 
light and perhaps to see what was passing. They 
saw no houses, though, as "deep" as some at 
Cuernavaca, where a flight of stairs often led 
from the street down into the living-room. 

When they reached the Jardin de la Union, they 
had still time before dinner to go into the opera- 
house, which is one of the finest on the con- 
tinent. It is called the Theatre Juarez. Two 
great stone lions sat on pedestals halfway up the 
entrance steps, which led to a great portico with 



354 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

handsome stone columns; these and the buildings 
having the green tinge peculiar to the stone of 
the hills roundabout the town. The interior was 
very rich and imposing, with the railings painted 
in pale tints of pink and blue, the box curtains of 
silk-velvet, and the seats in the foyer, where 
people promenade between the acts, of red velvet 
embroidered in gold. The chandeliers of coloured 
glass came from Paris, the custodian told them. 
He was evidently very proud of the house and 
very careful of it. All the handsome furniture 
was covered, and he had to lift up the covers to 
show its gorgeousness. 

^'I don't see," said Roy, "how people as poor 
as most of these can have such a fine theatre. 
How could they afford to build it and how can 
they afford to go to anything that costs money*?" 

''My impression is that either the general 
government or the state builds these principal 
theatres and opera-houses, as they do in Europe, 
and subsidises them, that is, gives them so much 
money a year, for running expenses," said Mr. 
Stevens. 

''I don't suppose they often have expensive 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 355 

entertainments here," remarked Mrs. Stevens, 
''for I noticed that at Cuernavaca and Oaxaca the 
principal entertainments were cinematograph 
shows. The Capital, of course, has excellent 
companies from Europe for both dramatic and 
operatic performances." 

In the afternoon, the party wandered about the 
streets, finding nothing that could equal in interest 
the people themselves. The market-place spread 
out into numerous little by-streets, as apparently 
fruit and vegetables were the only things sold in 
the central stone market-house. The children were 
interested in some little red balls that looked like 
beets and turned out to be part of a kind of cactus. 
The people bought them to eat, evidently. One 
thing Ray thought she must have, a toy chair four 
or five inches high with a woven seat, in imitation 
of the low seats used by the market-women. 

''I never saw so many people with nothing to 
do, even at Cuernavaca," said Eoy, as they 
passed a long row of women sitting on the ground 
beside a high wall, wrapped in their rebozos, 
talking very little, and apparently engaged in 
nothing more profitable than gazing at the 



356 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

passers-by. As they were almost opposite the 
city prison, it is possible that they were there on 
the chance of seeing a friend or relative who was 
among the prisoners ; but in various parts of the 
town the family afterward noticed the same habit 
of sitting on the ground in long, silent rows. 

"Look, children, there is something we have 
always wanted to see and have never come across 
before," said Mr. Stevens, calling their attention 
to the curbstone opposite the other end of the 
jail. 

"It's those letter-writing men!" exclaimed 
Eay, and the whole family stood and gazed, quite 
forgetful of their manners. Eanged along the 
curbstone were seated several men of various 
ages, each with a little low table or desk in front 
of him, with writing materials on it, and along- 
side each man sat a client dictating a letter. It 
was done in such a low voice that no bystander 
could hear, and some of the customers seemed to 
find it almost as impossible to find words as to 
write them. When a letter was finished, the peon 
took his envelope with its enclosure, paid his fee — 
according to the length of the letter— and de- 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 357 

parted. There were several women sitting on a 
doorstep near by, evidently awaiting their turn. 

'/It's almost as good as having a stenog- 
rapher," said Koy, and Ray sighed, ''I wish I 
could pay somebody to write my letters — I do 
hate to do it myself." 

''They say," said Mrs. Stevens, "that the work 
of the professional letter-writer is disappearing, 
now that the children are being educated, and the 
boys and girls write the family-letters." 

"I've noticed several times," said Roy, "young 
people sitting on the doorsteps writing and the 
family all sitting around inside — I suppose they 
were telling them what to say. ' ' 

"Have you noticed that the women here wear 
gowns more like those of the same class with us ? " 
said Mrs. Stevens. "I have seen a number of 
ready-made print gowns." 

"Yes, and the men nearly all wear heavy blan- 
kets instead of scrapes. I suppose it is colder 
here than anywhere else we have been," replied 
Mr. Stevens. Suddenly stopping short, he said, 
"Let's go in here, it's the government pawn- 
shop." 



358 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''What's that?" asked Ray. 

"A place established by the government in 
every city where the people can pawn things when 
necessary, at a reasonable rate. See this poor 
woman ! ' ' 

A very shabby-looking woman, with a little 
child, came in and deposited a pair of flat- 
irons. 

''She must make her living with those — I sup- 
pose she is a laundress, ' ' said Mrs. Stevens, look- 
ing at her husband and lifting her eyebrows in- 
quiringly. He caught her meaning at once and 
nodded with a smile, and after asking how much 
the woman was to get for the irons, Mrs. Stevens 
gently put the sum in her hand and pushed the 
flat-irons back to her. The gloomy face lighted up 
first with surprise and then with pleasure and 
gratitude, and stammering her thanks the woman 
bade the child also say ^'Gracias,gracias,senora!" 
and hurried out, hugging her flat-irons. Just here 
a young fellow came in to pawn his serape. 

"Are you going to give him something, too?" 
asked Roy. 

"No, indeed — ^he is young and able-bodied and 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE FROGS 359 

probably pawns his blanket to get rid of carrying 
it all day, or to get money for pulque (pul'-kay: 
liquor made from the maguey), or for gambling," 
said Mr, Stevens. 

'^But, Horace," said Mrs. Stevens in a low tone, 
''just look at that serape — it's dingy, but it's one 
of those beautiful old weaves and patterns that 
are getting so scarce. Do you think I might ask 
him to sell it? I could have it disinfected and 
cleaned and it would make a handsome table-cover 
or couch-cover." 
''Try him and see," advised Mr. Stevens. 
At first the man did not understand, — then he re- 
fused, — but the sight of the silver in Mr. Stevens' 
hand decided him, and he finally parted with his 
old serape for enough to buy two blankets, and evi- 
dently thought he had much the best of the 
bargain. Mrs. Stevens was equally pleased, for 
she said she had seen exactly the same quality in 
the shops of the Capital for which large sums were 
asked. The pawnbroker offered to wrap up the 
serape, which was quite kind of him as they had 
just deprived him of two customers, and the party 
took up their line of march again, congratulating 



360 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

themselves on having gone into the shop at just 
the right moment. 

"Aren't we going into the jail?" asked Eoy, 
anxiously. "This is where Father Hidalgo was 
imprisoned, isn't it I" 

' ' Not exactly. He captured it early in the war, 
and afterward when he was caught and executed, 
with his fellow-patriots, their heads were brought 
here and exposed outside the prison, hanging on 
great hooks from the wall just under the roof. 
You can see their names now, over the places 
where the heads were exhibited." 

The children looked up and read "Allende (Al- 
yen'-de)," "Aldama," "Jiminez (Him'-i-nez)," 
and "Hidalgo," and under the last name the 
great hook was still visible. 

' ' Ugh, ' ' said Eay, with a shudder. " I 'm afraid 
I'll dream about it." 

"There's a very interesting story of the cap- 
ture of the building," remarked Mr. Stevens. 
"Some one was wanted to set fire to the doors, 
but as the walls were closely guarded and the 
building defended by missiles from the top, it was 
a risky thing to undertake, and Hidalgo called for 



GUANAJUATO, HILL OF THE PROGS 361 

volunteers. A peon offered his services, pro- 
tected his back with a wide slab of stone, and 
taking a torch ran up to the great doors and set 
them on fire. Once the attacking party were in- 
side, they drove the royalists to the roof and cap- 
tured them. There is a statue of this hero in the 
prison, and we'll see it if we may go in and look 
at it." 

The guard made no objection when they entered. 
In the entrance corridor against the wall lay a row 
of guards asleep, being off duty yet required to be 
on the premises. In the dark corners of the 
rooms they passed through, some slight noise or 
a sudden movement called their attention to cer- 
tain old people who were allowed to beg there or 
who were waiting to see prisoners. Finally, in a 
corner, protected by a grating, they found the 
statue — not a work of art, but interesting on 
account of the legend. The figure wore the som- 
brero and sandals, a workman's apron, and carried 
a gun strapped across the front. 

''If they had statues to all the heroes in that 
war, they would be pretty well supplied with 
statues," said Roy, admiringly. 



362 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

On their way to the hotel they passed a school- 
building where some singing — the closing exercise 
— was going on. Eay told her father about the con- 
spirators and the night-school, and he said that 
there were night-schools in most of the cities. The 
children remembered then that they had seen a 
school in Oaxaca which they were told was open in 
the evenings for grown people. And in Cuer- 
navaca they had visited a very well-attended 
kindergarten. Roy and Ray had never supposed 
that they would be so interested in the schools of 
a country as they found themselves in those of 
Mexico, and they realised now more clearly than 
ever the great work that President Diaz had done 
for the country in establishing and promoting 
education of all grades and kinds. 



CHAPTER XXX 
MORE GUANAJUATO 

The next morning Mr. Stevens took Roy and 
Ray to the Mint, Mrs. Stevens preferring to stay 
at the hotel until they were ready to go over to 
the western part of the town, when they were to 
call for her. 

The silver reduction-works are all along the 
road from Marfil to Guanajuato, the mines being 
some distance off among the hills, and the ore is 
carried to the works on burros. There is one mine 
called the Valencia, which is reached by trail only, 
though there is a car-track belonging to the mine 
going part of the way out. This is an old mine 
and the works are like a fortress, as they were 
built in the days of the bandits. The mine was 
furnished with a great bell with which to summon 
help from the town in time of need, as in former 
times the trains of mules carrying bullion were 
often attacked. 

363 



364 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Where did these bandits come from? Who 
were they I" asked Ray. 

"I am sorry to say they often belonged to very 
good families," replied Mr. Stevens, "for it 
seemed to be considered no disgrace to rob and 
plunder provided one were not found out. They 
tell a story of a hold-up in this region in the old 
stage-line daj^s, and of the capture of the bandits 
after a sharp skirmish in which eleven of them 
were killed. By a curious coincidence, there were 
several funerals in some very reputable families 
just about that time. It would be interesting to 
trace the profession of the brigand back to its 
origin, and find out why he has such a reputation 
with the people and where the glamour comes 
from that seems always to be thrown around his 
adventures." 

' ' Are there many Americans here 1 ' ' asked Roy. 

"About a hundred, I am told — chiefly young 
men working in connection with the mines or the 
railroads. It must be pretty forlorn for them 
here, with so few American families and homes." 

' ' The painting lady told mother that one young 
man came up while she was painting one day and 



MORE GUANAJUATO 365 

said, 'Do you mind if I watcli you awhile? I'm 
just so lonesome, I don't know what to do.' So he 
sat down and talked to her a long time and told 
her all about himself." 

''I wish there could be free reading-rooms and 
travelling libraries in all the Mexican cities where 
there are Americans, with plenty of good books 
and the best magazines. The books could go from 
one town to another and serve a great number of 
people, and the reading-rooms would give the 
young fellows a quiet place for games and reading 
and smoking and for meeting other Americans," 
said Mr. Stevens, thoughtfully. 

"And they could have some nice aunt-like 
American lady to keep the rooms, and maybe she 
would darn their stockings for them," added Ray, 
enthusia stically . 

"I don't think I could stand it here all by my- 
self," said Roy; "I'm afraid I'd take to drinking 
pulque." 

They reached the Mint just at this moment, and 
saw the bars of silver melted and stamped and the 
milled edges put on the coins, just as they had 
seen it done in Philadelphia ; but one thing inter- 



366 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

ested them as a novelty. There were two Indians 
whose business it was to see that the coins were 
perfect before they went out into circulation. 
These men picked up from the heap of coins 
around them a handful of twenty, never more nor 
less, and simjoly by running their fingers over 
each could tell if there was any imperfection. If 
they threw a coin aside as defective, it was at once 
melted down and reeoined. 

"What wonderful finger-ends they must have!" 
whispered Ray, afraid to speak aloud lest she 
might disturb their operations. 

When Mrs. Stevens joined them, a little later, 
they made their way to the bottom of the town and 
up the western hill to quite another kind of neigh- 
bourhood. Here the houses were very small and 
the people evidently of the poorer class. They 
swarmed out of the houses like bees from a hive 
and the streets were crowded. At one place every 
one was standing still, watching a strange pro- 
cession, headed and closed by the city police. It 
was composed of women, nearly all old, and all 
looking very sad and paying no attention to the 
crowd that looked on. 



MORE GUANAJUATO 367 

"What does it meanr' asked Mrs. Stevens of 
a Mexican lady, who explained very willingly that 
they were women who had no means of making a 
living, being old or orphaned and friendless, and 
that the guards were taking them to the poor- 
house or what corresponds to the American 
poor-house. The people looking on were very 
respectful and sympathetic, and several of them 
exclaimed "Pohrecitas! (Po-vray-cee'-tas : Poor 
things !) " in a tone of compassion. 

"What is that great fortress-looking thing at 
the top of that high hill?" asked Roy. 

"The Campo Santo, or cemetery," replied his 
father, "and it is the place we are bound for 
to-day. If you don't want to climb this steep 
street, you can ride up on donkeys." 

The children jumped at the chance and were 
soon ambling up the hill on the sure-footed beasts, 
with a driver behind them, while their parents 
toiled slowly after them, Mrs. Stevens' former 
experience having given her a deep distrust of the 
animal. At the top of the street they joined 
forces again, and were soon inside the walls and 
among the tombs, which had their headstones 



368 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

hung with wreaths made of beads, of artificial 
flowers and metal ornaments. But the tombs that 
at once attracted Eoy's and Ray's attention were 
ranged along the wall in a sort of cloister and 
were made of masonry with openings large enough 
to insert a coffin endwise. The opening was 
then sealed up and the name, age and date, with 
some text or other epitaph, were inscribed on the 
outside. These tombs were arranged one above 
another, to a height of twelve or fifteen feet. 

^^If an American dies in Mexico, what happens 
to him?" asked Roy. 

''One of four things," said Mr. Stevens. "The 
law forbids bodies to be taken out of the country 
until five years after death, on account of possible 
contagion. But by the expenditure of a great deal 
of money for embalming and packing, etc., the 
transfer to the States can be made under great 
difficulties. It costs as much as a thousand dollars 
sometimes. By waiting five years, depositing the 
body meantime in one of these vaults and paying 
rent for the place, one may transport it to the 
States without objection and with only the usual 
expense. If the body is to remain in Mexico, one 



MORE GUANAJUATO 369 

of these places can be rented 'a perpetuidad 
(pair-pay-tu-ee-dad' : in perpetuity),' and it will 
not be disturbed; if there is no one to claim it, 
it will be kept here a year or so on the chance of 
a claimant appearing and then, if still unclaimed, 
will be put in the common trench with hundreds 
of other bodies." 

''Well, that's fair, I guess," said Roy. 

"Yes, for with us an unclaimed body goes to the 
Potter's Field or city burying-ground, at once, I 
believe." 

At this point, the guide inquired if they wished 
to go into the catacombs. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens 
looked at each other and at the children, hesi- 
tating. 

''We'll let them decide," said Mr. Stevens 
finally, and he told them that the catacombs were 
occupied by bodies which had formerly been in the 
vaults but which, the rent not being renewed at 
the end of five years, and no instruction being re- 
ceived in regard to them, were taken out of the 
tombs and placed in these underground corridors. 
That is, they were brought there if the body was 
mummified. If there were nothing left but bones, 



370 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

those went into the trench. ' ' Do just as you think 
best about going down, ' ' said Mr, Stevens, in con- 
clusion ; and Roy and Ray, after a little shrinking 
back, decided to go, not so much because they 
wished to see the mummies as because they did 
not wish to be left behind alone. A few steps 
downward below the trap-door which a boy held 
open for them, brought them into an anteroom 
through the glass door of which they looked into 
the corridor where the mummies leaned against 
the wall, clad in white sheet-like coverings pro- 
vided by the government. It was a grotesque 
sight, as they stood there year after year, gradu- 
ally falling into deeper decay, with tufts of hair 
clinging to the skull in some cases, the teeth show- 
ing white and ghastly, and no two of them looking 
any more alike in death than in life. There was 
something very dreadful about it to the children, 
and Ray whispered to Roy as they turned away, 
''I'd rather be burned in the crematory, and then 
if anybody wanted to look at the ashes, I should 
not mind." 

''Well, let's get out of this," said Mr. Stevens, 
abruptly, and they soon found themselves at the 



MORE GUANAJUATO Sll 

gate, after feeing the boy, who had presented 
each of them with a flower plucked from the 
cemetery flower-beds. 

"We must get the view from here," said Mrs. 
Stevens, as they stepped outside the wall, "for it 
is said to be one of the finest in Mexico." 

They sat down and looked at the city below and 
the green hills surrounding it and melting into 
blue ones in the distance, the little white houses 
like dove-cots stuck here and there along the 
ledges of the hills, the going and the coming of 
the people on foot and on donkeys up the long, 
steep streets, and soon the thought of the grue- 
some things they had just seen was effaced by the 
beauties of this wonderful scenery. When they 
reached the hotel again and realised that they 
must go over early to Silao to take their train 
again for the north, the children were quite dis- 
appointed. They felt that they had seen few 
places so interesting as Guanajuato and they 
would have liked to stay much longer. 

"But at Chihuahua, we shall see Cousin 
Francis, shan't we? and he will tell us a lot about 
the mines," said Eay, trying to console herself. 



872 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Yes, if we are fortunate enough to find him 
at home." 

"Well, we've got that much more of Mexico to 
look forward to, anyhow, ' ' said Roy. 

"You're getting to be a convert, aren't you, 
Roy?" said his mother, smiling. 

"It's so different and that makes it so interest- 
ing, ' ' said Roy, in apology. ' ' Of course, to live in, 
it isn't half so nice as it is at home; but to travel 
in, it's the most interesting country I ever expect 
to see." 



CHAPTER XXXI 
CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 

At Silao, while they waited for their train, the 
party had the odd experience of dining in an old 
freight-car, which some Chinamen kept as a 
restaurant. There was one car for first-class and 
one for second- or third-class custom, and the 
tables were set lengthwise of the car, light enter- 
ing through the broad doors at the side, to which 
steps had been built up. The dinner was very 
good and things looked very clean in the first-class 
car. 

The journey from Silao to Chihuahua was only 
moderately interesting, for after the strange and 
foreign things they had been seeing, the northern 
part of Mexico seemed less and less novel. Be- 
sides, they were again on a sleeping-car and that 
alone was enough to make the journey seem like 
one in the States. At Aguas Calientes (Ah'-gwas 
Cal-i-en'-tays) there was the excitement of seeing 

373 



374 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

the venders of drawn-work, for this town is the 
headquarters of the industry. They were not 
allowed upon the station platform but could come 
up to a certain railing where the passengers from 
trains could meet them and examine their work. 
Such beautiful work much of it was that Mrs. 
Stevens could not resist buying a piece or two 
and Ray also bought from her pocket-money a 
pretty handkerchief for her best friend at home. 
Prices went lower and lower as the time drew near 
for the train to start, and often afterward in the 
States Ray remembered with regret the lovely 
things they might have bought and did not. 

"What does Aguas Calientes mean!" asked 
Roy. 

''Hot waters or scalding waters," said his 
mother. ' ' There are very famous baths here, and 
even that ditch over there runs hot water. Those 
little houses are public bath-houses and before 
they were put up the poorer natives used to bathe 
openly in the ditch or stream. The springs are 
about a mile away, I believe. ' ' 

''The conductor has just told me," said Mr. 
Stevens, "that the baths first erected were named 



CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 375 

for John the Baptist and the apostles, and each 
had its name and its temperature written over the 
entrance. ' ' 

' ' I wish we could have stopped here, ' ' said Ray. 

''Some time you may come again," said Mr. 
Stevens. ''But both Silao and Aguas Calientes 
are railroad towns with large railway shops and 
much affected by American influences. They are 
much less Mexican in atmosphere than the more 
southern places, and likely to be still less so as 
time goes on." 

"I always used to think," said Roy, "that the 
minute you crossed the line from one country to 
another, things were different; but it seems as if 
we were getting back to the States and American 
ways by degrees, seeing these northern towns like 
this." 

Zacatecas (Zah-ca-tay'-cas) was the only other 
town on the way that made them wish to stop. It 
is one of the principal mining cities of the world, 
yet it looks from a distance like a collection of 
Arab dwellings. The blue and yellow of some of 
these stand out in the sharp sunlight, making the 
town look like a lovely mosaic in pale colours. 



376 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

' ' I daresay we are going over some of the mines 
now, ' ' said Mr. Stevens as the road curved in and 
out among the hills, "and probably some of those 
donkey-trains we see are loaded with silver ore." 

The train was late, as usual, owing to the rainy 
season and the danger of washouts, and had to 
proceed very carefully. Indeed, with all its 
caution, there were times when it swayed danger- 
ously from side to side on its uneven road-bed. 
At one place, they were delayed for two or three 
hours by a freight-wreck ahead of them. 

"If we were at home, we should be afraid the 
next train would run into us," said Roy, "but 
when there are only about two trains a day you 
don't have to be anxious about collisions." 

Night came on, and morning, which should have 
brought them into Chihuahua in time for break- 
fast, found them still on the road. Their welcome 
was all the warmer, however, when they finally 
arrived toward noon and found their cousins, who 
had been at the station several times in the course 
of the morning. 

The family were soon sitting in the pretty little 
patio of Mr. Francis Stevens' cottage, not far 



CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 377 

from the new park or alameda in the American 
quarter of the city, discussing Mexico and the 
Mexicans. As they had expected, Chihuahua 
proved to be even more Americanised than Aguas 
Calientes. When they drove out in the afternoon, 
they found the public buildings looked more like 
those at home than any they had seen ; but there 
was one thing that connected the city closely with 
all that they had seen before and that was the fact 
that Hidalgo and his followers had been im- 
prisoned and executed here. The children climbed 
up by a winding stairway into the old tower where 
the patriots had waited for their execution, and 
wondered whether they themselves could have 
been patriots to the death. 

When Mr. Francis pointed out to them in the 
Plaza the monument to Hidalgo, on the spot where 
the execution took place, they stood a long time 
looking at it as if they would fix it in their 
memories. 

The Cathedral itself, begun in 1717 and finished 
after about seventy-five years, interested the 
children chiefly on account of the story of its 
building. Instead of using a scaffolding, the 



378 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

builders raised the earth about it as the walls went 
up, and the materials were carried up this earthen 
runway. By the time the towers were finished, 
the runway extended away beyond the limits of 
the Plaza, 

"Of all the funny ways to build!" exclaimed 
Roy. 

"What do you suppose they did with all the 
earth afterward?" asked Ray. 

"Oh, scraped it away with their hands into 
those reed mats, I suppose," said Roy, scornfully. 
"It would be their way of doing things." 

"They are pretty slow and awkward in their 
methods," said Mr. Francis, laughing, "but I 
hardly think they are as bad as that. The church 
cost eight hundred thousand dollars and was built 
with a tax levied by the priests on the mine of 
Santa Eulalia, near the city. They were to have 
two reales on every pound of silver. So you see 
what a very rich mine it must be. It is one of the 
oldest, too." 

"Won't you tell us something about the mines 
in Mexico, Cousin Francis?" asked Roy. 

"I suppose you know," said Mr. Francis, "that 



CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 379 

the principal product is silver. There is some 
gold, bnt not much, so far as known, though the 
Aztecs had many gold ornaments. Then there is 
an iron mountain in the State of Durango, and 
there is considerable coal, with some lead and 
copper. Sulphur has been mined from the crater 
of Popocatepetl since the days of the Conquest — 
it is in a very pure state. ' ' 

"Who owns the mines?" asked Eoy. 

"Mexicans largely, though there are some 
foreign companies, and many of the mining- 
engineers, assayers, etc., are foreigners. The 
Americans, English, and Germans, are all invest- 
ing and gradually introducing modern machinery. 
In the mines where old methods are used, the 
miners climb up and down shafts of several 
hundred feet in depth by ladders or by steps cut 
in the side of the shaft. Some have the old wind- 
lass arrangement, worked by mules." 

"The mines are not very easy to get to, are 
they?" asked Mrs. Stevens. 

"Not very. It means a long trip on horseback 
or on donkeys. If you were going to stay longer 
I should urge your going up with me, but I could 



380 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

not return with you in less than four or five days 
and that would interfere with your plans, if you 
are really bent on going on as soon as you 
say. ' ' -^ 

"Yes, we must not stay," said Mr. Stevens, 
regretfully, "but one of these days, perhaps, Roy 
and I will come down again and then we shall 
certainly want to see the inside of several mines. 
There is so much more to be seen in Mexico than 
we had any idea of that one visit is certainly not 
going to be enough. This time, we have looked at 
the old things and places and observed the Mexi- 
cans. Another time, we shall study the mines and 
mills and great manufactures and observe modern 
Mexico." 

"It is going to be a great country," said Mr. 
Francis, "for it has wonderful resources and it is 
making steady and rapid progress. If the people 
at large can only keep up with this progress, it has 
a wonderful future. Given the administration of 
a second Diaz, the people also will progress in 
education, in freedom from superstition, and in 
appreciation of all that goes to make modern 
civilisation. For the present and doubtless for 



CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 381 

years to come, they will need a firm hand at the 
wheel and a sagacious head." 

''One thing I'd like to know," said Eoy, 
thoughtfully. "I'd like to know what President 
Diaz himself would say now if he had to prophesy 
about Mexico twenty-five years from now." 

Mr. Francis smiled. "He could do it truly if any 
one could, for he knows the character and the 
possibilities of the Mexican people and he has 
often shown a far-sightedness in his plans that 
amounted to prophecy. But he would probably 
say 'Quien sabef 'Who knows?' " 

A day later, the Stevenses said good-bye to 
their cousins and set out upon their last day's 
travel in Mexico. It was an uneventful day's 
journey, though Eay said, when they stopped at a 
tiny station where a few peons had gathered, "I 
feel like looking hard at everything that isn't 
American because it's going to be gone so 
soon, even if I've seen it a hundred times 
before." 

"Yes, so do I," said her mother, "and yet I 
shall be glad to be on our own soil again. How 
about you, Eoy?" 



382 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO 

''Well, I've had enough this time," said Roy, 
''but I'd be rather sorry if I thought I wasn't ever 
coming again." y- 

"I hope it won't all be changed and just like the 
States next time, ' ' said Ray. 

"Don't be afraid," said her father. "There 
will still be the old ruins and there will still be the 
people — it won't be so easy to change them in a 
short time. But it is true that the ways of doing 
things will change — we shall have to go away 
from the highways to find primitive customs 
and costumes in a few years. The peons are 
giving up the serape in the manufacturing 
towns and the white suits and sombreros may 
follow." 

It was late evening, owing to further delays, 
when they crossed the Rio Grande at El Paso, 
leaving the Mexican town of Juarez behind them. 
Lights shone along the banks of the river — the 
American customs officials came through the train 
and called upon the passengers to declare their 
drawn-work — the fine new station was crowded 
with people, and everywhere they heard American 
expressions in American voices — "The Mexicans 



CHIHUAHUA AND HOME 383 

have such nice voices," said Ray, sighing,— and 
soon they were swallowed up in the crowd, on the 
way to their connecting train. Mexico, the land of 
manana (to-morrow), was behind them, and the 
land of to-day was before them. 



THE END 



384 



ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 



MEXICAN NATIONAL HYMN. 

Words by Don Jaime Nunc. Music by Don Francisco 
Gonzalez Bocanegra. 

CORO. ^^T^- 



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SB^J 



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Me 



• xi - ca - DOS, al gri - to de guer 
- % - cans, at the sound of the ivar 



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cry The 



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ro a-prestad y el bri - don, 
and the charg - er pre - pare, . 



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Let the 



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tiem ble en su cen - tro la tier - ra, Al so - 

earth to its in - ner - most trem - ble, W hen the 




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MEXICAN NATIONAL HYMN. 



385 



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no - ro ru-gir del ca - ndn, 
can-non'' s deep roar shakes the air. 



Y re- 

Let the 



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can - non's deep roar shakes the air. 



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386 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 

Voz. E sir of a. 




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Cifia joh pa- trial tus sie -ues de o -li - va De la 
Let the archangel of peace,ihe di - vine one, Crown thy 



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no, Que en el 
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cie - lo tue-ter -no des - ti - no 
heaven thy des-ti-ny e - ter - nal 



Por el 
By the 



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MEXICAN NATIONAL HYMN. 



387 



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do de Dios se es-cri-bio. Mas si o- 

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once the bold foot of a strati - ger 



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nar con su plan-ta tu sue 
fane thy dear soil as in - va 



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der, Be - 



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388 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 



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pa - tria que - ri - da! que el cie 
mem-ber heaven setids thee a sav 



lo Un sol- 
iour III each 



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da-do en ca-da hi - jo te dio, Un sol 

son, to come to thy aid, thy aid, In 




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da do en cado M - jo te dio. 
each son to come to thy aid. 

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MEXICAX NATIOXAL HYMX. 389 

En sangrientos combates los vist-e, 
For tu amor palpiiando sus senos, 
Arrostrar la metralla serenos, 
Y la muerte 6 la gloria buscax. 

Si el recuerdo de antiguas hazaiias 
De tus hijos inflama la mente, 
Los recuerdos del triunfo tn frente 
Volverau inmortales a omar. Coeo. 

Como al golpe del rayo la encina 
Se demunba hasta el bondo torrente 
La discordia vencida. impotente. 
A ios pies del arcangel cay6. 

Ta no mas de tns bijos la sangre 
Se derrama en contienda de bermanos ; 
S61o encnentra el acero en sus manos 
Quien tu nombre sagrado insultd. Coeo. 



Vuelye altivo a Ios patrios bogares 
El guerrero a cantar su victoria, 
Ostentando las palmas de gloria 
Que supiera en la lid conquistar. 

Tornaranse sus lauros sangrientos 
En guimaldas de mirtos y rosas, 
Que el amor de las bijas y esposas, 
Tambien sabe a Ios bravos premiar. Coko. 

T el que al golpe de ardiente metralla 
De la patria en las aras suctimba. 
Obtendra en rcompensa una tumba 
Donde brille de gloria la luz. 

T de Iguala la ensena querida 
A su espada sangrienta enlazada, 
De laurel inmortal coronada 
Formara'de su fosa la cruz. Coeo. 

;Patrial ;Patria! tus bijos te juran 
Esbalar en tus aras su aliento 
Si el clarin con su belico acento 
Los convoca a lidiar con valor. 

jPara ti las guirnaldas de oliva ! 
Un recuerdo para ellos de gloria! 
Un laurel para ti de victoria I 
Un sepulcro para ellos de bonor ■' 

Coeo. 

Mexicanos, al grito de guerra 
El acero aprestad y el brid6n, 
Y retiemble en su centro la tierra, 
Al sonoro rugir del candn. 



390 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 

In bloodiest comhals thou seest them, 

For thy honor their hearts bravely heating, 
Serenely the death-missiles meeting, 
And seeking or glory or death. 
If the records of ancient achievements, 
Of thy children illumine the spirit. 
Equal triumphs their prowess shall merit, 
To loear on thy brow as a wreath. Chorus. 

As the live-oak at stroke of the lightning 
Crashes into the stream deeply flowing, 
Discord, vanquished and powerless showing, 
At the feet of the archangel lay. 
Now no more shall the blood of thy children 
Be shed in a conflict of brothers. 
The sivord in their hands for no others 
Than those who thy name would betray. Chorus. 



Proud returns to his country maternal 
The loarrior, his victory chanting, 
His trophies triumphantly vaunting 
That he fought for and toon on the field. 
His garlands of laurel, all gory, 
Into myrtles and roses converted. 
Fit guerdon for heroes brave-hearted. 
Such as women with love ever yield. Chorus. 

And he who by murderous weapons 
For his country expires at her altars, 
From the justice that nevermore falters. 
Shall receive a bright, glorious tomb. 
Of Iguala the banner beloved, 

Bound his still bleeding sabre entwining, 
With laurel immortal combining. 
Forms the cross pointing up from the gloom. 

Chorus 
country, my country, thy children 
Their life-blood to thee have devoted, 
When the clarion^s call, brazen-throated, 
To battle shall summon the brave. 
For thee then the garlands of olive ! 
For them a most glorious memorial ! 
The laurels for thy brow the aureole ! 
For them deathless fame and the grave I 

Chorus. 

Mexicans, at the sound of the war-cry. 

The sword and the charger prepare. 
Let the earth to its innermost tremble 

When the cannon's deep roar shakes the air. 



LA PALOMA. 
LA PALOMA. 



391 



Yradier. 



Allegretto. 



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392 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 






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bana, Valga - me Dios ! 



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ha vis - to sa - lir si no fuf yo, . 




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LA PALOMA. 



393 



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vi-no trasdeini que si se - nor. 



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Si a tu ven-ta-na lle-»a u-naPa - lo-ma . 



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cuen-ta la tus a-more s bien de mi vi - da 






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394 



HOY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 




co-ro-na-la de flo-res que es co - sa mi - a. 




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Ay ! chi-ni - ta que si ! 



Ay ! que da me tu a-mor ! Ay ! 



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que vente con mi-go chi-ni - ta a-donde vi - vo yo. 




LA PALOMA. 

3 

*4 



395 






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Dr Ay! . 



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que vente con mi-go chi - ni - ta 



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con 8va. ad libitum. 



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a - don-de vi - vo yo. No te en-se - liau, no te en-se - 



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liau el cua-dri - la-le-ro tan-de can-tau quelosAus 



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tria-cos lian re - ga - lau al a - mo mi - o muy di - bu - 



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396 



ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 




fi - cau de que la 






guer-ra ha ter-mi-nau centres o- ble-as melohanpe 



When I went out from Havana, Heaven bless ma 

No one but my oivn self espied me on the way, 

And a pretty Mexican — there'you see me! — 

Who came after, following me, si Senor. 

If to thy loindoiu comcth a dove, 

Treat it with endearments, for it is myself, dear. 

Tell it thy love tales, joy of my being, 

And crown it with flowers, for it is my own. 

Ah, chinita, say yes! Ah, but give me thy love! 

Oh, come with me, come with me, 

Chinita, my home awaits my love. 

Ah, chinita, say yes, Ah, but give me thy love. 

All, come loith me, come ivith me, chinita. 

My home aivaits my love. 

Have I not shown thee, have I not shoion thee, 

The quadrilateral, so much besung, 

That the Austrians have presented 

To my master, so much portrayed? 

And the little paper certificate 

That the war has terminated. 

With three seals they have sealed it for me. 

Have sealed it, reseated it, and sealed it. 



LA GOLONDRlNA. 
LA GOLONDRlNA. 

CANCION POPULAR. 



397 



Introddccion 

Moderato 



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A-don-de i - ra . ve-loz y f a - ti - ga - dalago-lon- 
Wherewillit go, . the swift and weary swal - low That from this 



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dri - na que de a-qui se va, O si en el 

place . is winging forth its way ? . . . . What if a 



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398 



ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 



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vien - to se ha- lla-ra extra - via - da bus- can-do a- 
stray - ing wind it blind-ly fol - loiv,Seek-ing where 



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bri - go y no lo en-con-tra- ra . 
none . ex - ists a sheltering stay ! 



a -don -de i- 

ivhere will it 



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clio le pon-dr6 su 
side shall it make its 



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do, en don- de pue - da la es - ta - ci - on pa- 
ing , While the long sea-son slow - ly pass - es 



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LA GOLONDRINA. 



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tam-bien yo es-toy 
For al - so I 



eu la re - gion per - 
in this strange land am 



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i — ^^-^ 8±=^ST=i 



di - do, Oh ! cie - lo sau - to y sin po-der vo ■ 
roam - ing,And I, bless - ed hea- ven,can- not 



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lar ]un-toami lar. 

fly. Near to my fly. 



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400 ROY AND RAY IN MEXICO. 

Adonde ira veloz y fatigada 
La golondrina que de aqui se va, 

si en el viento se hallard extraviada 
Buscando abrigo y no lo encontrard,. 

Junto a mi lecho le pondre su nido 

En donde pueda la estacion pasar ; 
Tambi6n yo estoy en la region perdido 
cielo santo ! y sin poder volar. 

Where will it go, the swift and weary swallow 

That from this place is winging forth its way f 
What if a straying wind it blindly follow, 

Seeking ivhere none exists a sheltering stay ! 
Near to my bedside shall it make its homing, 

While the long season slowly passes by, 
For also I in this strange land am roaming. 

And I, blessed heaven, can not Uy ! 

Dejg tambien mi patria idolatrada, 

Esa mansidn que me miro uacer, 
Mi vida es hoy errante y angustiada 

I ya no puedo a mi mansion volver. 
Ave querida, amada peregrina, 

Mi corazon al tuyo estrechare, 
Oir6 tu canto, tierna golondrina, 

Recordare mi patria y llorare. 

1 too my cherished country have deserted. 

The little house where first I saw the light — 
My life has wretched been since I departed, 
"■ Nor toward that home can I again wing Mght. 

Beloved swallow, pilgrim dear and slender, 

My heart with thine companionship shall keep, 
Hearing thy voice in song, swallow tender, 

I shall recall my land and softly weep. 



INDEX 



Aguacate, The, 110 
Aguas Calientes, 373 
Alamo, The, 28, 33 
American Young Men in Mex- 
ico, 364 
Animals, Domestic, 43, 213, 216 
Aztecs, The, 134 

Baths of Tehuacan, 318 
Beggars, 67, 71, 198, 272 
Borda Garden, The, 199 
Brooms, 46 
Bull-fights, 114 
Burial Laws, 368 
Burro-riding, 227 

Cake-venders, 252 
Calendar Stone, The, 147 
Carlotta, Empress, The, 153 
Cathedral of Chihuahua, 377 
Cathedral of City of Mexico, 

65 
Cathedral of Cuernavaca, 201, 

223 
Cathedral of Guadalupe, 80, 84 
Cathedral of Puebla, 240 
Cave-dwellers, 267 
Cemetery and Catacombs at 

Guanjuato, 367 
Chapultepec, 31, 158 
Chihuahua, 376 
Cbolula, Pyramid of, 137, 254 



Christmas, American, in Mex- 
ico, 237 

Church, Oldest, in Western 
Hemisphere, 248 

City of Mexico, 55 

Coffee, 332 

Concerts, Band, in Cuernavaca, 
193 

Confetti, 119 

Conquest of Mexico, 133 

Convicts, 337 

Corn-cribs, 351 

Cortez, Hernando, 136, 221, 276 

Cuauhtemoc, 140 

Cuernavaca, 181, 192, 195 

Cuernavaca, History of, 221 

Customs at Mexican frontier, 
34 

Diaz, Porfirio, 91, 123 

Education, 104 
Esperanza, 323 
EucaljTDtus plasters, 234 
Evil eye. The, 34 
Execution, An, 335 

Family, Mexican, A, 365 
Federal district. The, 139 
Flower-market of City of Mex- 
ico, 70 
Fourth of July, 118 



401 



402 



INDEX 



French invasion, The, 94, 152, 

333 
Funerals, 90 

Game of Mexican History, 17, 

26 
Gardens, Floating, 175 
Golondrina, La, 194 
Golondrina, La (music), 397 
Government of Mexico, 101, 130 
Greetings, Mexican, 320 
Grito, The, 77 
Guanajuato, 342, 351, 363 

Haciendas, 51, 230 

Hidalgo, Padre, 76, 157, 360, 

377 
Hotel in Cuernavaca, 186 
Hotel Yturbide, 59 

Images, Sacred, 350, 274, 330 
Independence Bell of Mexico, 

76 
Independence, Mexican, War 

of, 77 
Inquisition, The, 223 

Juarez, Benito, 93, 95, 99, 156 

Kitchens, 263, 306 

Laundry, A, 53 

Letter-vi^riters, Professional, 356 

Library, public. A, 219 

Maltrata, 326 

Map of Mexican journey, 1 
Market-places, 195, 241, 247 
Maximilian, Emperor, The, 97, 
153, 232, 333 



Mexican War, The, 29 
Mexico, Northern, 43 
Mines and mining, 49, 378 
Mint at Guanajuato, The, 365 
Mitla, Journey to, 278 
Mitla, Ruins of, 295, 314 
Mitla, Village of, 290 
Money, 38 

Moctezuma II, 135, 159 
Morelos, General, 223, 225 

Napoleon III, 152 
National holiday. The, 78 
National hymn. The (music), 

384 
National Museum, The, 146, 156 
National palace. The, 76 
Navy-yard, A, in the moun- 
tains, 142 
Nixtamal, 197 

Oaxaca, 271 
Orizaba, 328 
Oxen and ox-carts, 282 

Paloma, La (music), 391 

Paseo de la Reforma, The, 144 

Patios, 58, 106, 186, 292, 310 

Pawnshop, government. A, 357 

Pedregal, The, 179 

Pelota, 111 

Peon, heroic, The, 360 

Peons, 146, 214 

Peon's home. A, 212 

Porteros, 189, 262 

Pottery, Cuernavaca, 184, 207 

Puebla de los Angeles, 240 

Puebla, History of, 242 

Queretaro, 344 
Quetzalcoatl, 137, 150, 259 



INDEX 



403 



Rurales, The, 102, 163 

Sacrificial Stone, The, 148 

Sad Indian, The, 149 

Sails of stone, 85 

San Anton, Village of, 205 

San Antonio (Texas), 23 

San Luis Potosi, 47 

Santa Anita, Village of, 173 

Santa Anna, General, 86, 93 * 

Santo Domingo, Church of 

(Oaxaca), 275 
Scenic journey. A, 325 
School, American, The, 107 
School, public, Mexican, A, 164 
School, military. National, The, 

162 
Schools, Night, 348, 362 
Serape, The, 53 
Silver mines, 343, 363 

Tajo de Nochistongo, 343 

Tamale, The, 128 

Texas, Republic of. The, 28 



Theatre Juarez, 353 

Tlacolula, 287 

Tlaltenango, 209 

Tlaxcala, 245 

Tortilla, The, 109 

Tram ride from Tehuacan to 

Esperanza, 319 
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 

32 
Tree of La Noche Triste, 132, 

139 
Tule, Great tree of, 285 

Valley of Mexico, 55, 143 
Viga canal, The, 167 
Virgin of Guadalupe, 80 

Winter weather, 149, 237 

Yturbide, General and Em- 
peror, 61 

Zacatecas, 375 
Zdcalo, The, 65 



By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN 
TWO STORIES FOR GIRLS 

Dandelion Cottage 

Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn and Finley. $1.50 

Four young girls secure the use of a tumble-down 
cottage, on condition that they shall keep the grounds 
in order. They set up housekeeping under numerous 
disadvantages, and have many amusements and queer 
experiences. 

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Dial. 

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commended as one of the best of the season '"—Boston Herald. 

" The slory is a storj' for its own sake, brightly and cheerfully 
toXdL."— Chicago Ttlbune. 

The Girls of Gardenville 

Illustrated by Mary Wellman. i2mo. $1.50 

Interesting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls' 
club — "The Sweet Sixteen" of Gardenville. The 
doings of these girls at home, among themselves assem- 
bled, or on excursions, are pleasantly, healthfully, and 
wholesomely related. 

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picnics, and behaved just as jolly, nice maidens should." — Oict- 
look. 

" The same cheerfulness of activity that hovered around ' Dan- 
delion Cottage' is perceptible around 'The Girls of Garden- 
ville ' ^''—Chicago Tribune. 

" W'll captivate as many adults as if it were written for them. 
. . . The secret of Mrs. Rankin's charm is her naturalness . . . 
real girls . . . not young ladies with 'pigtails,' but girls of six- 
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script. 

Henry Holt and Company 

Publishers (viii '06) New York 



By MARION A. TAGGART 

AUTHOR OF "the LITTLE GREY HOUSE," " MISS LOCHINVAR," ETC. 

Two Stories for Young Folks 
DADDY'S DAUGHTERS 

Illustrated by G. W. BRECK. ^1.50 

"Daddy," an admirable, patient, "literary" man, 
who, like many of his kind, finds it a trifle hard to make 
both ends meet, and four girls, his daughters, are dis- 
tinctly individualized. More girls live on the other 
side of Daddy's garden hedge and have three jolly 
brothers. Their adventures and home life make a book 
full of natural, lively young folks and their doings, yet 
tinged throughout with the delicate refinement of the 
sympathy between the artistic father and his girls. 

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fun." — yV. y. Sun. 

" Miss Taggart's pleasant story is admirably adapted, not only 
to the tastes but also to the needs of young girls. May be heartily 
commended."— Proviclence/ourna/. 

NUT BROWN JOAN 

With frontispiece and decorations by BLANCHE OSTERTAG 

Joan is an energetic, lovable girl, who has all the 
fun and most of the tro ubles of a member of a large 
family. Her experiences, when the cares of a house- 
hold fall on her shoulders, will strongly appeal to any 
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sponse in the hearts of older boys and girls. 

"A wholesome and pretty story of a family of young people 
not the least attractive of whom is their ugly duckling, Nut 
Brown Joan. Her pleasant fellowship with a boy nicknamed 
Darby is one of the nice things in this little homely history."— 

"A story for older girls, well worth while, and one which it 
will be well to bear in mind for a gift at the holiday season."— 
Brooklyn Eagle. 



Henry Holt and Company 

Publishers (iv, '07) New York 



The Boys of Bob's Hill 

By CHARLES PIERCE BURTON 
Illustrated by George A. Williams. i2mo. $1.25. 
A lively story of a party of boys in a small New England 
town. Fun, sport, and exciting adventures are every-day 
matters. On holidays everything happening in their neigh- 
borhood leads up to hair-breadth escapes or jolly mishaps. 

" A first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy — any 
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uncommon relish. ... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to 
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covers." — Christian Register. 

Nelson's Yankee Boy 

By FREDERICK H. COSTELLO, author of " On Fighting 
Decks in 1812." 

Illustrated by W. H. Dunton. i2mo. $1.50. 

An American sailor boy is impressed by the English and 
is present at Trafalgar and Nelson's death. The story con- 
cludes with a sea-fight in our own War of 1812. 

" Most interesting . . . certain to be enjoyed by any intelligent 
boy." — Outlook. 

"A rattling good story." — Philadelphia Press. 

" A boy of whom all ' Yankees ' may be proud ... is entertaining, 
oftentimes thrilling. Nor is there anything improbable about it; the 
boy is honest and true, and the whole tone of the book is invigorating." 
■ — Chicago Tribune. 

Prince Henry's Sailor Boy 

By OTTO VON BRUNECK. Freely Translated and 
Adapted by Mary J. Safford 

With illustrations by George A. Williams. i2mo. $1.50. 

A tale of life in the German Navy to-day. Claus Erichsen 
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" Well written and interesting. "—/)/«/. 

" A complete and, we are sure, able picture of the life lived by a 
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" Excellently adapted to the taste of American youth . . . a first- 
rate story _. ... It has plenty of adventure."— /'/jj/a^fZ/Aza Press. 

"Told in a way to keep the young eyes steadily at work from the 
first page." — Washington Star. 



Henry Holt and Company 

Publishers ^x, '05) New York 



STANDARD CYCLOPEDIAS FOR YOUNG OR OLD 

champlin's 
Young Folks' Cyclopedias 

By JOHN D. CHAMPLIN 
Late Associate Editor of the American Cyclopesdia 
Bound in substantial red buckram. Each volume complete 
in itself and sold separately. lamo, $2,50 per volume, retail 

COMMON THINGS 

New, Enlarged Edition, 850 pp. Profusely Illustrated 
"A book ■which will be of permanent value to any boy or girl to 
whom it may be given, and which fills a place in the juvenile library, 
never, so far as I know, supplied before." — Susan Coohdge, 

PERSONS AND PLACES 

New, Up-to-Date Edition, 985 pp. Over 375 Illustrations 

"We know copies of the work to which their young owners turn 
instantly for information upon every theme about which they have 
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they had not thought before seeing them, and treating the book simply 
as one capable of furnishing the rarest entertainment in exhaustless 
quantities," — N. Y. Evening Post. 

LITERATURE AND ART 

604 pp. 270 Illustrations 

"Few poems, plays.'novels, pictures, statues, or fictitious characters 
that children — or most of their parents — of our day are likely to inquire 
about will be missed here. Mr. Champlin's judgment seems unusually 
sound." — The Nation. 

GAMES AND SPORTS 

By John D. Champlin and Arthur Bostwick 
Revised Edition, 784 pp. 900 Illustrations 

" Should form a part of every juvenile library, whether public or 
private." — The Independent. 

NATURAL HISTORY 

By John D. CHAMPtiN, assisted by Frederick A. Lucas 
725 pp. Over 800 Illustrations 

"Here, in compact and attractive form, is valuable and reliable in- 
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taught to go to this volume for information useful and interesting." — 
Journal of Education. 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK (u, '06) CHICAGO 



•A^^ 1307 



CONGRESS 




illlllliiiiiiiiiiiilll 

017 505 310 4 



ships, "carcna" being a Spanish word meaning "overhaul." The mouth of 
the harbor is rather narrow, but the harbor itself is wide and deep, and a 
thousand ships can safely anchor there at one time. 

Habana occupies a very strategic position at the mouth of the Gulf of 
Mexict), a fact which has served to give it the name of the "Key of the Gulf." 
The harbor is strongly fortified, the entrance being guarded on one side by the 
Morro and the frowning heights of La Cabana Fortress, and on the other by 
La Punta and other smaller coast batteries, and these in turn being supported 
by the batteries of Castillo del Principe, Castillo de Atares, etc., and by the 
sand batteries extending upon the coast on both sides of the harbor. 

The water supply of Habana is one of the most abundant and at the same 
time purest and healthiest in the world, the water being obtained from the 
springs in Vento, tanked in reservoirs at a place called "Palatino," near Ha- 
bana, and carried to the city by means of an aqueduct. 

The city has beautiful drives, among which are the famous Malec6n 
(embankment), which runs parallel to the sea; the Paseo de Marti, running 
from the Malec6n to the Parque Central; the Avenida de las Palmas; and 
the Avenida de la Independencia. Its parks also are very beautiful, especially 
the Central park and the Parque de Colon. 

The city has a number of associations for purposes of instruction and 
recreation, several clubs, an academy of sciences, a university, a high school, 
chanty institutions, asylums, civil, military, and private hospitals, several 
theaters (the principal one, named Teatro Nacional, being widely celebrated), 
large markets, a system of magnificent waterworks, an extensive and beautiful 
cemetery, sea baths, churches, convents, and good hotels, which are being 
improved yearly. 

It is a favorite winter resort for Americans, who find in the Cuban capital 
the combined pleasures of seashore and city life. 

Since Habana is the capital of the Republic, it is the residence of the 
President of the Republic, the seat of the Congress of the Republic, the seat 
of the general government, supreme court, superior court of Habana (audien- 
cia), general direction of finance, naval station, arsenal, observatory, diocese 
of the bishopric, and the residence of all the administrative heads of the island 
(civil, military, maritime, judicial, and economical). 

There are numerous cigar and cigarette factories, tanneries, and manu- 
factories of sweetmeats, rum, candles, gas, beer, carriages, soap, perfumery, 
glycerin, etc. 

Habana is the most important commercial center of the island. 

Its principal exports to the United States consist of tobacco, fruit, wax and 
honey, sugar, and molasses. 

THE ISLE OF PINES. ^ 

The Isle of Pines, located about fifty miles south of the narrowest part of 
Cuba, is a municipality of the province of Habana. It is surrounded by the 



THE liSi^E OF Jb'lJNEb. 5tf 

shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea. Its area is approximately 1,200 square 
miles. 

The island is divided by a broad swamp, about fourteen miles long and ■ 
from one to three miles wide, into two parts, making, in efi'ect, two islands. 
About one-third of the area lies south of this swamp and is a low, flat wilder- 
ness, uninhabited except by a few families along the south coast, who subsist 
mainly by wood cutting, charcoal burning, etc. In the interior of the southern 
section, a large part of which is owned by Americans, mahogany, cedar, and 
other valuable woods are abundant, but the lack of roads renders impracti- 
cable any extensive business in utilizing the timber. 

The northern half of the Isle of Pines consists essentially of a plain, which 
is level for the most part, although it is occasionally broken by low hills. 
The shore of the northern section is beach sand and mangrove swamps, 
varying from a few feet to five miles in width, and from sea level to an elevation 
of from twelve to fifteen feet. This fringe of the northern part is broken by 
two headlands, Punta de Colombo and Punta de la Bibijagua, which project 
into the sea. 

There are a few broad shallow streams with gentle slopes, whose sharp 
cut channels fill during the rainy periods. During the dry seasons, some of the 
smaller streams go dry. 

Two elevations rise to a height of nearly 1,000 feet, the Casas mountain 
west of the town of Nueva Gerona, and Caballos, to the east. These moun- 
tains are composed of marble, which is sometimes coarse and sometimes 
fine grained and ranges in color from pure white to dark gray. Marble is the 
most important mineral resource of the island. 

In a few places there are indications of iron ore deposits, masses of brown 
hematite being found scattered over the surface, but no veins of workable size 
have been discovered. A few small deposits of manganese have been found. 

"The flora of the island combines many of the variations of Florida with 
the large hard wood trees of Central America and Mexico, and, singularly, 
the pine, characteristic of the temperate zone, which grows over the greater 
part of the island. * * * The tall pines furnish, for exportation, railway 
ties, telegraph poles, poles for the roofs of native Cuban huts. * * * 
One of the principal sources of wealth is lumber. * * *" 

"In the forests are found extensive groves of the Creoduz regio (royal palm) 
and 26 othei- varieties of the same numerous family; the mahogany, lignum- 
vitae, coco wood, from which reed instruments are made; cedrela odorata, 
used in the manufacture of cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet woods and 
producing an aromatic oil distilled from its wood; and fistic, or logwood, a 
dye stuff. * * *"» 

There are many native fruit trees along the streams, such as mangoes, 
caimitos, aguacates, zapotes, and wild oranges. Wild bamboo fringes the 
water courses, while, in damp places, aeroid plants drape the trees. Flowering 
shrubs and plants grow luxuriantly. 



